At the hallway of the Academy.
On his way to his dorm room, he saw Ming Fei, the daughter of the Ming Clan Master. He had secretly developed feelings but he was probably too shy to express what he felt.
'Hello, Ming Fei!' Gu Taixu said amiably with a bashful smile, 'How are you doing?'. He hoped to start a conversation by the reply he got completely baffled him.
Silence, An indifferent look. He was completely snubbed.
As if he expected this, he prodded further.
"Ming Fei, Where are you going? Can I join you?".
Feeling disturbed, Mong Fei, shot him a disdainful look and continued her stroll.
Seemingly out of his mind, he followed on while calling her name several times.
Feeling embarrassed, she increased her pace. Seeing this, he moved rapidly and caught up in a matter of minutes.
Holding her hand firmly, and in a low tone, he said,
"Ming Fei, are you avoiding me? Did I do anything wrong? Please tell me. Talk to me, please!"
Meanwhile, Ming Fei struggled out of his grip. With an arrogant snort, she said,
"I no longer associated with your sort!"
"Really?!"
"Yes, Gu Taixu, leave me alone. It's obvious, I don't need you in my life. After all, I have already been betrothed to someone else...", she said with a tone of mystery.
"But how about us?", he said almost in tears.
"There is no 'us'. There will be no 'us'." She said, wringing her hand free, "My fiançe is the Jade King and we'll be getting married soon."
"The Jade King of the Qin Family?" He questioned.
"Exactly, therefore you put yourself in trouble by coming after me."
After that sentence, she turned to walk away leaving behind the heart broken Gu Taixu. With tears in his eyes, Gu Taixu asked amidst sniffs.
"But why Ming Fei .... why?"
With a snort, Ming Fei said without turning her head,
"I cannot get what my family wants from you ..."
"Is this just about your family, Ming Fei? Are you even thinking about us?"
"Yes, Gu Taixu, I am. I am thinking about you. I am doing this for your own good. Don't you understand? You can't give me what I want, royalty, a good life, a smooth road on the martial path, protection, endless resources, unlimited treasures. Qin Jiushang can and you can not!"
That was probably too much said in one breath as Ming Fei gasped for breath for few seconds. The dazed Gu Taixu could only look on as she disappeared out of sight.
Rejected ... Rejected again! Why? Why did it have to be so?
The reason was too obvious that the question was rhetorical.
He was too weakkkkk! It was shouting in his face.
The thought sent him into a bout of restrained madness. Why was his gate this way?
He would have kept tossing thoughts if one of his chums, Luo Ke had not tapped his shoulder.
Luo Ke, a slim and good-natured boy, fair and two years younger than Gu Taixu, had not made any progress than the latter.
"Take heart, you should have expected that. The Clans of ChuZhou are trying to get any power they see within their grasp. That includes utilizing their daughters be married into families with high social ranking and authority. Here, the small Ming Clan allies with the big Qin Clan. You can imagine their outcome in marriage." He said while shrugging his shoulders.
"Thanks, but she is my life. I can't lose her." He said with affection.
"Really, but she just left you. I don't mean to be pessimistic but this relationship is going no where."
Gu Taixu sighed. Then sneered. Then laughed. Luo Ke laughed as well.
"Seriously, has it come to this?", he asked, "Laughing at yourself."
"Yeah, why not? I can't even keep the woman I love, and now when is gone."
"Yes, that's history. All is not lost, my friend, you must still be able to get her back."
"How is that possible?"
"With absolute domineering strength; strength stronger than that of Qin Jiushang's. While you train, hope for a fortuitous encounter. Remember HeadMaster Yong. He was just an average pupil, bit when he had that encounter, he became that unmatched headmaster of Fallen Stars Martial Academy."
"So, I just need a fortuitous encounter."
"Probably, that's all you need. And Ming Fei and the Ming Family will come running back to you."
"A fortuitous encounter that can increase my strength to at least Qin Jiushang's level?"
"Exactly, But you know ... eh...that's almost impossible because... see...Qin Jiushang recently broke into the Level 5 and you're still in... Level 1... so eh..."
"I get it, I've got to get to Level 5...".
"Hello! That's 4 Levels not 4 steps. It's like the distance between heaven and earth. More so for you who has not made any substantial progress in your martial career." Luo Ke cut in.
"Let's say you break through to Upper Tier tomorrow. That's your hardwork for three years. How many decades will it take you to get to Level 5? When and if you finally get to Level 5, will Qin Jiushang still be waiting for you in Level 5? Of course not. That makes this pursuit hopeless." Luo Ke predicted.
"Ha-a." Gu Taixu sighed.
"Just forget about her, bro. Think of other things. You've got your whole life ahead of you."
"Brother Ke, you may be right. I will take your words to heart."
"Alright now, so cheer up." Luo Ke said with a pat on his shoulder as they walked to their dorm room.
At a bend, they went their separate ways.
On getting to his dorm room, Gu Taixu was about to enter but he heard two voices from inside that stopped him in his tracks.
"Jing Bai is always alone when I go out. And this is still prep time, he should not have any visitors." He thought to himself.
He cautiously peeped through the keyhole and squinted his eyes to see the figures behind the door. When he looked inside, what he saw startled him.
In Gu Taixu's dorm room.