Chapter 21
Ramiel was given proper time to fully recover and rest most of the people enjoyed the days as each of them had the opportunity to truly have a vacation, Grandpa Tang ordered all of them to relax and let the troubles of the world be shouldered by other people.
they all agreed and decided to savour these few days to spend with their loved ones, Amelia and the rest of them wasted no time in enjoying their days filled with adventure new connections, and joyful memories.
On the third day, the Indonesian government, with the help of Mr Suryadi Hartono, allowed them to stay on Barung Island for 5 days so the elders could secretly test everyone's ability to survive as well as conduct a ceremony to welcome new clan members. Despite that, three of them were excluded, Amelia, who was pregnant, Megan Li Xú, who is four years old, and Hae Gi Ramiels Korean friend.
they arrive at the island around 2 in the afternoon as a Military Sealift
anchored a hundred meters away from the shoreline. and dozen of small inflatable cargo boats were used to transfer everybody by groups including all of the equipment, after a few hours they were able to set up the base camp with the help of Mr Suryadi Hartono's personnel they were able to secure a functioning camp within a few hours, complete with everything thing you need to stay comfortably in a remote island, it was amazing to see that even in the most isolated place comfort, safety and technology can still be availed and be provided with the right connections.
each tent can accommodate 6 people and be fully equipped with all the basic needs to live on including the latest technology like air filters and rechargeable solar lights, they even installed a portable Satellite communication and internet grid so we will never be out of touch with the world. and enough food to last them for a week.
the sun was setting and everybody was having a great time socializing eating and just having a great time grandpa Tang finally stood up while holding a bottle of water he welcome everybody from selected people in the subfamily clans and people within the main Fu Xi Shi Corporation and subsidiary, including few guests.
grandpa Tang with a big smile and positive energy explained the reason why there are all gathering there, he pointed out that because of the changes happening all around them either good or bad, these are still changes that needed to address by the new generation to ensure that their legacy will continue to live on and prosper. he further explains that this event was an old tradition to see each participant's potential, tomorrow morning as soon as sunrise they will begin the test, so for now, just have fun and enjoy.
unlike the rest, Ramiel was already planning so with the help of his new friend Hae Gi they access the world wide web and secure a basic geographical terrain of the island, while Ramiel was reading from Hae Gi's cell phone she notice that Ramiel was taller now and he looked more matured she even asks him about his age when Ms Lin Siniang suddenly went inside their tent and was a bit upset, to their surprise Ramiel acted that they were just talking as he slowly hides the phone away.
Hae Gi ask Ms Lin Siniang why was she upset, she explained she saw
Ya Zuo was flirting with one of the Hartono twins but because she was too upset she wasn't able to clarify which of the twins he was flirting with. because this was only the third time they were able to meet and this was the only time they were attending a social activity or a gathering like this Ms Lin Siniang was still having a hard time distinguishing Amisha and Annisha Hartono apart, so as soon as she can she just ran off and went inside the nearest tent near her.
Ms Lin Siniang just stop and looked at both of them, as if they were hiding something, Hae Gi's face turns red as her fair white skin could not hide the redness of her cheeks, and this made Ms Lin Siniang more curious and asked why are they inside the tent, unlike the rest who were having fun outside.
Ramiel saw that Ms Lin Siniang was already creating weird patterns in her mind as she was trying not to change her facial expression, Ramiel was about to explain when Ms Lin Siniang giggled and said Ramiel has a crush, but this made him flustered and looked at Hae Gi with a state of confusion she panics felt that what they were doing was cheating so to hide this fact from the rest she just kissed Ramiel on the cheeks as they were sitting on the tent floor side by side.
Ms Lin Siniang saw this and drove her to scream in happiness, Guan Yu and Amelia heard her scream and came running toward the tent and as they enter saw Ramiel holding Ms Lin Siniang's mouth stopping her from saying anything, the two just smiled and told them its almost time to rest, grandma Mao took a pick and told them might as well stay in this tent because it can accommodate 6 people then left after that Ramiel explained everything he was so adamant to keep everything a secret so he asks Ms Lin Siniang to not to say anything about it.
When she smiled at Hae Gi and said you were perfect for him, a small pillow suddenly struck her face, and the three began a pillow fight. Other participants saw the mess they made in the tent and a deep feeling of awkwardness filled the air. They all bowed down and asked for forgiveness, then went to their sleeping beds and fell asleep as soon as the area was cleaned.
it was 5:30 am it was still dark most of the people with them were already awake and doing their morning routine, Amelia was with Guan Yu eating breakfast Ramirl walked toward them and Amelia greeted them both
"good morning to both of you!"
she was smiling, even Guan Yu was having a hard time drinking his tea while looking at him, his eyes were looking at Ramiels hand and giving Ramiel weird eye signals when he felt something is was holding his hand, as soon as he look at it was Hae Gi's hand holding his hand while walking half asleep with Ramiel, he remembers that the moment he woke up he unconsciously held her hand and drag her from her sleeping bed like what he did when the red caps attack them.
grandpa tang saw this and went up to him and said
"Nice moves kiddo!"
those who saw this smiled and at the same time Hae Gi' was slowly waking up realizing she had sleepwalked and dragged Ramirl out of his bed, Amelia took hold of her hand before he could even reach it and she just held it and said
'geogjeongmaseyo, ulineun yeogi issneun modu chingu-igo jeulgeoun us-eum-eul huisaengsikimyeonseo dangsin-eul seulpeuge mandeulji anh-eul geos-ibnida. dangsin-i nae yuilhan adeul-ui chingu-igi ttaemun-e ulineun us-eossseubnida.'
Don't worry, we're all friends here and we won't make you sad at the expense of having a good laugh. We smiled because you're my only son's friend.'
Amelia made her sit beside her Hae Gi expressed her gratitude and thank her for being kind to her, Ramiel sat across them and offered her milk to his delight Hae Gi said yes and finally remove that awkwardness in the air,
sadly their peaceful breakfast was cut short when Ya Zuo was trying to explain to Ms Lin Siniang what she saw last night, when Dr YaXiu Fang address everybody and ask them to stand up and raise their left hand above their head, she took out a ball of tread as big as an apple from her pocket, and with her mouth, she utters some Chinese world s and blew onto the ball tread as it gently breaks apart like silk treads and moves directly toward each of the 26 participants left hand and wrap around it then became invisible.
then grandma Mao explain the rest of the details and address each participant and introduce each of them including their background, her words were effective, short, and precise to the point it only took her a few minutes to introduce all 26
As part of the rules, grandpa Tang and Gong Renshu explained that each of the 26 participants would receive a red scarf and a utility bag that they can fill with survival supplies and rationed food purposes, the red scarfs symbolize their determination to win and survive so they must defend themselves from being stolen, or taken by other players. they all have an hour to plan each other's move and If by chance a player were to be cornered, he or she could wager the scarf on a one-on-one battle., there is just one rule no killing, Grandma Mao and Dr YaXiu Fang place a tracking tread of their clothing to monitor their location and health status they have 72 hours to outwit, win, and gather as much scarf and lastly survive the winner will be determined with the most number of scarf they have obtained,
they have 61 kilometres of rough terrain, and dense jungle forest, Gong Renshu told the participants that there is no shame in not joining, but he reminded them that they all have to move forward and survive in this harsh world and being weak is not the answer,
Xuéxí, shìyìng, shēngcún, kèfú, zhè jiùshì wǒmen de zú zhī dào!
learn, adapt, survive and overcome, this is the way of our clan!
with his powerful roar grandpa, Tang shouted
go!
all 23 participants ran in different directions the last three people to move were Guan Yu, Zixuan Xú, and Sersi who have the winning upper hand among the rest, so the 3 decided to give them ample time to gather their thoughts and strategize their plan.
Ramiel was energetic and ready to prove himself as he ran toward the area where he was able to gather information last night, his bag was oddly bigger than the rest but the elders saw that he was not breaking any rules, Ramiel knew that most of them will be near the Nusa Barong Island Beacon so challenging each of them is out of the question he lacks any fighting experience so the only way he could think of was to use the 3 days to learn and observe their action, from a safe distance.
after five hours of running that surprisingly didn't recall he could do before now after gaining some knowledge in controlling his aura he felt great, he was able to reach an area of filed cherry without even stopping once, and then he heard loud sounds what seemed to be fighting broke the forest calm charm, but he remained focus he was able to read that there were small caves in this area big enough to house a single person.
he saw one but it was big enough for him to crawl in it was about ten feet long, and 5 feet wide 4 feet in height so it might not be ideal for a hideout but it was perfect for him, went in the small cave-like hole and place his bag, he took out the utility knife and came out and gently gather dead branches and cut some plants mostly vanes and cover the cave entrance after a while more sounds could be heard all over the place so he rushes knowing that they might accidentally see him he as soon as could he finished his made camouflage door and went inside double checking his area if it's clear as he crawled toward his bag he sat comfortably and took out a 7 old Chinese book and his solar-powered rechargeable lamp he started to read.
Ramiel was gifted when it comes to vast imagination and his determination to learn new things and not give up, he thought if his mind could remember all of the information in those books, he want to try using the same method but instead, he wants his body to remember that information like a program, and started to do Chi Breathing Meditation he followed everything in the book he borrowed from Dr YaXiu Fang
Ramiel sat in a half-lotus position with his feet resting in the crooks of his knees, and keep his back straight, he relax all the muscles in his body like strings pulling the top of his head like a marionette to help him maintain the correct posture.
he breathes out, count two. until his thoughts were an anchor and gave him something to focus on. Deep, abdominal breathing circulation of energy was slowly moving it was warm gathering throughout every part of his body it started at the very root core
it was easy at first but as soon as he reached the fourth core the pain was paralyzing to the point, he felt his heart felt like it was being crushed into a tightening grip, the Pulse beating in his heart was getting weaker as his ears could no longer hear it from beating, blocking out all other sounds, Ramiel not frightened nor was he was afraid, but what he felt was beyond such mere nouns that can be said by the common man.
A cold wave embalmed him as the hairs rose on the back of his neck and his mouth ran dry, he endured it until Terror sucked the very breath from his mouth as he access the fifth core near his throat, Sweat poured down Ramiels body but he remains still as possible and continued his breathing and recall what grandma Mao told him
"Tóunǎo bìxū shǐzhōng chǔyú 'liúdòng' de zhuàngtài, yīnwèi dāng tā zài rènhé dìfāng tíngzhǐ shí, jiù yìwèizhe liúdòng bèi dǎ duànle, ér zhèng shì zhè zhǒng dǎ duàn duì tóunǎo de jiànkāng shì yǒuhài de. Duì jiàn shì lái shuō, jiù yìwèizhe sǐwáng."
"The mind must always be in the state of 'flowing,' for when it stops anywhere that means the flow is interrupted and it is this interruption that is injurious to the well-being of the mind. In the case of the swordsman, it means death."
knowing he was having a hard time breathing but understanding this pain is just the manifestation of his weak resolve, he must overcome this after nearly passing out he remembers his mother's tears every time she would protect him in the past, this negative emotion is what's keeping him from gaining control, he must let it go and stop blaming himself for being weak he finally understood what grandma Tang told him to always learn, adapt, survive and overcome,
the pain in his body slowly dissipated and his mind was slowly clearing, the dark images from the past became glass images that began to float in the air, and in his mind, he could see them shatter one by one as he break into the six core he could see the energy vain on everything around him even if his eyes were close we could feel all living organisms faint aura signature, it was like having ex-ray eyes he could even see the participants aura as far as a mile,
this was the right moment to recall all the martial art movements in the old book, add the basic motion, and act out those movements in his mind like he was in a virtual reality and follow them step by step.
he was about to open the last core when a voice inside his mind disrupt his concentration, it was different and too heavy and felt alien to him it was not part of his inner memory, he suddenly woke up from meditation and was out of breath, he was sweating black oily liquid in his skin after seeing this decided to surrender and return to the camp.
he crawls out of his hiding place and after a few steps he heard people calling out his name in a frantic state, Zixuan Xú saw him and reports to rest that Ramiel has been seen, he was confused as to what was happening, Amelia and the rest were waiting patiently at the base camp when Ameli saw Ramiel she a toward him and hug him and started to cry,
Ramiel was now even more confused about what was happening, Guan Yu walked toward him and ask if he was feeling ok, and grandma Mao with Dr YaXiu Fang rushed toward him and examine his condition.
he was weirded out and was forced to ask them what was going on, Grandpa Tang told him that he was been missing for a week now. it's already October 10 this information made Ramiel speechless while thinking he has already entered the medical tent while being assisted by Dr YaXiu Fang and saw his reflection in the mirror next to the bed he was shocked to see that he look famish and lost a lot of weight but how could that be he just started to meditate inside the small cave just a few hours, what was going on he thinks then suddenly everything went black.