"Dear Li Jun, this might be sudden, but I'm going away for a while. I have things I must do. Congratulations on stepping onto the path of martial arts, although I do have to say that you aren't very good at keeping secrets. After reading this, I know you will try to come after me, but don't. I am already long gone. Look after the house and, most importantly, look after yourself. I love you more than words can describe; I know one day we will meet again, and when that day arrives, I have something important I wish to tell you. Until then, be kind and stay out of trouble. With love, Yao Lan."
Li Jun felt his heart stutter as he read the letter his mother had left. He had so many questions, and she was no longer here to answer them. He wanted to run outside and chase after her, but she purposely left no indication of where she was heading.
"Why?" He said with his face pale. "Why did she leave? Did I do something wrong?" He asked himself as a feeling of anger brewed within him.
He looked into her room and wanted to tear everything apart to find clues about where she might have been heading, but he couldn't bring himself to do so.
Hu Mei looked at him with sorrowful eyes. She wanted to say something, but she was just as surprised. There was nothing she could say to cheer him up. The two of them stood in silence, collecting their thoughts until Li Jun broke it with a sigh.
"I wish to be left alone. I will be in my room. Please notify me if any visitors come," he said and stormed down the corridor, clutching the note tightly in his hand.
"Yes, young master," Hu Mei bowed her head as she watched him close the door behind him.
Li Jun threw the letter onto his bed and sat down on the floor. So many thoughts ran through his mind that he couldn't keep up with them. He wanted to scream, shout, but he couldn't think of what to say.
'How could she just leave without saying anything?' he thought as a tear formed in his eyes. As soon as he felt the tear run down his cheek, a slap echoed throughout the room.
Li Jun gritted his teeth as he lowered his hand from his cheek. "I won't cry anymore." He said with a resolute glare as he looked at his reddened hand. His right cheek burned with pain, but the pain distracted him from what he was feeling.
He closed his eyes and let go of his feelings. He drifted into a deep meditation and awoke the next morning. He opened his eyes slowly, feeling a sense of power, unlike anything he had felt before.
It seemed the key to cultivation was having a calm mind. He didn't feel the passage of time at all. The only reason he awoke was a slight ache coming from the strange location above his navel.
It felt like it had grown significantly during the night, but it had reached a point where there was a feeling of resistance, and the ball of glowing light wouldn't grow anymore.
"What is this?" He wondered as he came up with a plan to find out what was happening within his body.
He remembered a story about an old martial artist living on top of a hill near Mister Bai's fields. However, he didn't know if it was true or not; no one had ever seen him. There weren't many martial artists in the city, and the ones that did live there were from noble families. Given Li Jun's status or lack thereof, they wouldn't open their gates to him, let alone tell him about martial arts.
He figured his best chance was to ask someone who didn't know him or his family. He pressed the red gem on his ring, and the items landed on his bed. He took out a single gold coin and a white crystal and then put them into his leather pouch. After pressing the gem once again, he marched downstairs. Hu Mei had set out breakfast for him, but for some reason, he didn't feel hungry. He looked at the bowls of soup on the table and frowned.
"I'm heading out." He announced as he opened the door. "Any visitors will have to wait until I get back."
Before any of the maids could object to his sudden departure, he left. He would be back soon. But he didn't want to be held up in his house all day, especially now that his mother was gone. Just the thought of it made him feel alone.
He strode through the city with an air of confidence, after defeating Li Chen for the first time he felt as though he was on top of the world. His view of the world around him was beginning the change. Now that he was a martial artist, endless possibilities had now opened up. He didn't need to work the fields anymore.
With a smile, he adventured out of the city gates and down the long, winding roads past Mister Bai's wheat fields. He eventually found himself at the foot of the hill where Li Chen and his friends had surrounded him and let out a sigh. It felt like a distant memory despite it being recent.
"I hope I didn't hurt him too badly." He muttered as he looked at a dried blood stain on the grass.
Li Jun looked up at the hill and took his first step. There was no visible path, and the grass was overgrown and reached his waist. It seemed that no one had even attempted to climb the hill for countless years.
Which wasn't surprising. Martial artists weren't known for their patience or hospitality. He just hoped that he could use either a gold coin or the white crystal to find out what he wanted to know.
He climbed up the steep hill and soon figured out why no one had attempted to climb it before. Within a few minutes of beginning his journey, he felt out of breath, and the beaming sun felt hotter with each stop he took. However, the burning heat was nothing compared to what he had experienced upon opening the golden scroll.
He forced himself to continue up the hill and soon reached the top. He looked around and saw that the surface at the top was completely flat. It looked as if it had once been a mountain and had been sliced with a gigantic sword at the base.
He looked around with confusion before spotting a small wooden house in the distance.
'That must be it.' He thought as he walked towards it. He marched on, determined to speak to the martial artist who lived there, but suddenly, he came to a halt.