Alex turned and bowed to the old woman again, humbly offering his thanks.
"You don't have to thank me," she said, her little face filling with joy. "This is a place for all the masters, and you are the master of the Moon Palace now. It is my duty to show you this."
After that, Alex returned every day to study and discuss the techniques with the old woman. Without his even noticing it, his skills improved rapidly.
The more he practiced, the more he realized he didn't know. There was far more to learn here than anything he could cram into his brain in just a few weeks. But the old woman knew a great deal about the history of the palace and the martial arts form and helped him when he ran into roadblocks. She knew how to put complicated concepts into simple terms.
Every time he left the cave, he struggled to remember what the figures on the walls looked like. He knew it would take a long time for him to really understand what he was learning.
When he returned to the palace, Celeste suddenly exclaimed, "Your face! You look different!"
She held up a mirror for him to see for himself. He realized she was right. His skin had become much smoother, and his hair was glossy. He looked the very picture of health.
He realized this must be a side effect of his mysterious new course of study. He had a sudden, mischievous thought that it was strange that studying in the cave was making him look so good when the old woman looked so weathered and ugly. But he knew he would never dare to ask her why that was.
At that moment, a disciple walked in, followed closely by a man shouting, "Alex! I'm looking for Alex!"
It was Rufus. His hair and clothes were a mess. Alex realized the disciples must have given him a very hard time at the gate. Strange men were not usually permitted to enter, and the disciples tended to be cold towards strangers.
Rufus quickly explained the situation with Debbie. Alex packed as quickly as he could and jumped into Rufus' car.
**
News of the impending martial arts war swept across the United States. People heard there was a conflict between Tyson, the leader of the Blood Brothers, and some strange newcomer. Some martial arts groups were very eager to watch the conflict from a distance, hoping to learn and become stronger through their fight.
Everyone knew the history of the Blood Brothers. But as the years had gone on, they had assumed that the gang had finally left their anger at the rest of the martial arts community in the past. Now they were active and attacking again.
But Alex was a mystery. There were plenty of rumors and stories flying about, but little was really known about the new lord of the Moon Palace.
Most of the other groups hoped he was powerful. They didn't want to intervene if they didn't have to, and it was convenient to assume he could take care of himself. But they also knew that if Alex fell, the Blood Brothers would continue to rise in power, demanding respect and even tribute from the other groups. No one wanted to be dragged into the conflict.
Along the Hudson River, tourists were visiting the scattered waterfalls and reserves despite the cold weather to see the magnificent natural formations along the water. The tourist traps all along the Hudson River were bustling and crowded.
Despite the crowds who came and went, Tyson had set up camp to wait for Alex to come and challenge him. Despite the cold, he wore light clothes, always ready for a fight. His face betrayed no feelings. He always looked stern and resolute. Rumors began to spread, and people started to avoid the site.
But other martial artists came to challenge his followers.
The Blood Brothers had no problem defeating them all. One, a student named Jack, saw many of them personally and began to make a name for himself. Sometimes he fought them at the river, where they had come to challenge Tyson, and sometimes he went to their own schools and beat them there. News of his power began to spread.
None of this seemed to move or interest Tyson. Privately, he thought it was good for Jack to become notorious on his own. Rumors of the Blood Brothers' downfall had begun to spread when Alex defeated Lee Harshaw. Jack's success was a way of showing the world that the Blood Brothers would continue to produce fighters, even better fighters than what they had had before. Losing Lee would not destroy them.
But Tyson was becoming impatient as he waited for Alex. When he had received the challenge, he had been ready to fight immediately. But now he had been waiting at the river for weeks, and there was no sign of Alex.
The delay was hurting Alex more than himself. The longer he didn't show up, the more the other martial arts groups began to doubt he had ever been a great fighter in the first place. Those who had wondered if they could learn something from the newcomer began to laugh at him. No one regarded him as a threat or a new master anymore.
They sighed to each other that the story was over before it had even begun. A few disciples from different schools sat together at a coffee shop near the river discussing the situation.
"I heard Tyson attacked Alex's girlfriend with a show of his own internal force, and she's wasting away. But Alex hasn't shown up to do anything about it! I'm amazed," said one disciple.
"Being famous is tough. Alex must have chickened out when he realized what Tyson could do", said another.
"Are you kidding? He just showed up on the scene and now he disappears?", cried another.
Meanwhile, Jessop was still desperately trying to save Debbie's life. He invited over ten medical experts to weigh in on the situation. But none of them could see a solution. Each one sadly encouraged him to give up and let her slip away peacefully.