Rain poured down as Shun was making his way up a mountain on the path to his next destination: Gushitai Province. Having nothing to protect himself from the downpour, he covered his head with his right hand to block the rain. He used his Chi to keep himself warm from the rain, but the action was slowly draining him of his energy. At long last, he made it to the top of the mountain and found a large cave. He quickly entered it and shook off the rain.
The cave was big and spacious and dark. Shun sniffed the air but didn't detect any sign that would suggest this was the den of a wild animal. Even after all these years, he still retained the hunting lessons that he had learned from his father. He carefully set down his bag and dropped to the ground. He knew that sniffing the air alone wasn't enough to tell him everything he needed to know about the cave and its safeness, but he was too tired from the rain and from using his Chi to warm himself in the downpour. At long last, he had found a place to rest his aching legs. Outside, the rain was still pouring down like needles. Shun decided to rest himself until the rain dissipated. He then drifted off to sleep.
A man drenched from the rain and carrying a line of fish over his shoulder entered the cave. He made his way to the center of the cave and summoned a ball of fire with his left hand. The light illuminated the cave and he found a pile of firewood in front of him. He threw the flame onto the wood and made himself a campfire. He then walked over to the side and found a giant block of stone. With a kick, he sent the stone sliding to the left and it stopped abruptly in front of the fire. Above the fire was a setup of two wooden stands holding a metal rod. He took two fish and speared them through with the metal rod. As he crossed over to take his seat, he glanced behind him and saw Shun sleeping near the mouth of the cave.
The man walked over to Shun and examined him. "What is a brat like him doing here?" the man asked himself spitefully. "He is young, but he possesses strong Chi." He cleared his throat and Shun immediately woke up. Shun thought that he had heard a loud thunderclap just now and it jolted him out of his slumber. "What are you doing here?" the man asked Shun.
Shun looked up at the speaker and was surprised to see a man standing right before him. "I was resting to wait for the rain to pass," he answered back.
"Then you have completed your goal," said the man.
Shun glanced outside and saw that the rain had indeed passed. However, it was dark out and there was no indication of a full moon which would provide him with the light he needed to continue on.
"What are you waiting for?" asked the man.
"I don't think I can continue in the dark," Shun told him.
"Brat, you entered my domain without permission. What makes you think that you can stay the night without consulting me first?" said the man with a scowl.
"I apologize for my offense," Shun quickly apologized with a bow.
"Your apologies mean nothing," scoffed the man.
Shun was getting really desperate. He needed to do something to convince this man to allow him to stay for the night. "I will do anything you desire," Shun told him. "All I ask is to stay for the night. I am on my way to Gushitai Province, but I am still a novice as a traveler. I am not knowledgeable of the dangers of the outside world, which is why I want to approach this in a cautious manner. It is all to ensure that I can live to achieve my goal."
"Your goal?" asked the man, somewhat intrigued.
"To save my sister who is trapped in the Imperial Capital, Dokan," said Shun.
"Such a righteous goal," said the man in a dismissive manner. "If you are so intent on going, then why stop here? You want to preserve your life just so you can save your sister? That is a meaningless excuse!" Shun was slapped in the face by that last comment. "But I guess a brat like you wouldn't understand the meaning of sacrifice," sighed the man grimly. "Normally, I would kill any trespasser without a thought. However, I have used all of my energy pursuing my own goal today. I'll let you sleep for the night but no more. If you are still here by tomorrow evening, I will kill you at first sight."
"Thank you!" thanked Shun with a bow.
That night, Shun slept in the cave. The man kept his word and made no move on the young man. He simply finished his dinner and then walked back outside. 'His Chi is strong, indeed,' mumbled the man to himself as he passed by Shun.
Shun immediately woke up the next morning as soon as the sunlight crept into the cave. He grabbed his belongings and promptly exited the cave as per his promise. As he did, he came upon the man from last night. The man was bare-chested and had scars all around his body. Sweat glistened on his body and face like oil. Now that Shun was able to see the man more clearly, he noticed that the man had a rather long and sharp face with a strong chin, a long nose with nostrils like a snake, long black hair that grew past his waist and was left unrestrained, and blue-grey eyes that were cold like ice and intimidating like thunderclouds.
"Looks like you are a man of your word," said the man. He carried no emotion on his face. But his voice was all that he needed to convey his feelings.
"I am leaving right now," said Shun with a bow. "Thank you for your hospitality."
"Isn't it good manners to introduce yourself to someone who has provided you with hospitality?" came the man.
"I apologize for my oversight. My name is Junlong Sh—," Shun stopped himself a moment before continuing, "Junlong Muotai. My name is Junlong Muotai." Shun remembered the importance of keeping his real name a secret and the necessity of using his civil name when with people he didn't know.
"Junlong Muotai," repeated the man to himself, "I'll remember that." 'This boy is still young. But he will only grow stronger in the future. He will prove a useful tool for me in the future,' he thought to himself. "You may leave," said the man, moving aside for Shun to continue.
Shun bowed one last time and left the mountain. Once he was at the mountain's base, he heaved out a sigh of relief. 'It's a good thing I left,' he thought to himself. 'That man was no doubt a very strong Duelist. If something were to happen, I would've no doubt died at his hands.' He shook the dreadful feeling off and continued onwards to his next destination.
A good day and a half had passed before Shun had finally made it to the province's gates. He showed his stamp to the guards and was granted entry. In just three days time, Shun passed through five cities. Soon, he had made it to the capital city of Gushitai Province: Gold Peak Valley.
The city was situated between three small mountains. Its streets and walls were painted gold and glistened brilliantly in the daylight. Weaving through the city were also artificial waterways that directed the sparkling Golden Glow River, so named for the golden sand that makes up its riverbed that sparkles in the sunlight, from the west to the southeast. People traversed on boats and feet, with few animals being used for transportation. Shun had never seen many boats before in his entire life! As he walked through the streets, he also came into contact with foreign goods that he had never seen before, foreign words that he had never heard before, and cultural practices that confounded him. But even with all of these peculiarities, he observed that this city and its people weren't that different to him at all. For every unusual practice he saw, he found practices that he were all-too familiar with all his life; for every strange word he heard, he still managed to understand the conversations between people with no trouble at all. 'This is still Chirokai,' he told himself with a little inner laugh.
Shun signaled for a boat and asked to be taken to an inn. The boatman took him to a fairly large inn that wasn't too expensive nor too cheap to afford. Shun paid the man 30 Kon and entered the inn. He paid for a room, which costed 200 Kon, and was shown to his room by a servant. The room wasn't that big but still spacious enough to move around in. There was a desk with paper and ink sitting right near the doorway. A small table for eating and a pair of benches was situated in the center of the room. The bed was located at the back. It was a typical inn-style bed: its base was stone and covered with a layer of grass; a fabric cover was placed over it; on top of the cover was the soft cotton mattress with a thickness of only two knuckles; on top of the mattress was a long pillow made out of bamboo with a fabric cover, and a blanket made out of weaved grass, cotton, and silk. The bed's height reached only Shun's waist, and there was a step that led up to it. In order to get on the bed, Shun would have to take off his shoes in front of the step and then walk up with only his bare feet.
After setting his things down, Shun decided to go eat out somewhere in the city. He made it to the lobby and witnessed a scuffle taking place. A middle-aged man in a very loose-fitting robe held together by a frayed string at the waist was yelling hysterically at a group of scholars. The man was very drunk and his face was flushed like a ripe fruit. Judging by the words he spoke, Shun deduced that the man was reproaching the scholars on the subject of ethics.
"You empty-minded fools are far from being true scholars!" he yelled at them. Despite his drunkenness, his words were crystal clear and there were no signs of impediment to his speech at all. "If all you can do is read and follow what the words say in your little book and think that's all there is to it, then you are big-headed morons! Why call yourself scholars? Why not call yourself fancy sheep, since that's what you are! All you have to show for your supposed level of mental superiority is a superficial understanding of the knowledge of the Greats, which only does well to grant you fleeting fame to boost your overblown egos and wealth for you to buy all of the gaudy clothing you can get to flaunt your pretty faces and quickly withering manhood! Desperate for some exercise, I see!"
"How dare you use such vulgar language!" objected one of the scholars.
"A true scholar is not afraid to use language to his advantage in order to prove his point!" argued back the man smartly. "Are you saying that you surrender to my apparently more brilliant mind? Perhaps I can help teach you the correct way to utilize rhetoric just like how our predecessors intended!"
"You are a madman!" exclaimed another one of the scholars.
"There can be no genius without madness," cleverly replied the man.
"Come! Let's leave," said the first scholar. As he said that, one member of their group stepped forward. He carried with him a hand fan. "Hey, what are you doing?" came the first scholar.
"Sir, before, you said that ethics is not about right or wrong," said the scholar with the fan. "However, ethics is the foundation which societies draw their laws from. We understand right from wrong just as well we understand the sun from the moon. Ethics is what informs us to create our laws and our laws in turn prove those ethics. Of course, not every law is correct nor does it ensure that the ethics it is intended to carry out is done so indiscriminately. But if the law works, then it has done its job in enforcing the ethical concept which it is trying to achieve. And these ethical concepts are indeed the wrongs and the rights that which we use to distinguish our reality."
'What he's saying is right,' thought Shun with a nod. 'It's just like what Eru-senzo taught us.'
The madman simply stared at the scholar and uttered out the following word, "Crap." He then unleashed an assault of the same word in a mocking manner to drive home his point. "That bunch of crap was so smelly that your mother won't even want to wipe it off your backside for you! Ethics is not the definitive law that separates the good from the bad. Good and bad is inherent in all of us since when we were first put on this Earth by the hands of Tohaizen! Ethics is not a divine law but a human construct we use to justify our actions! How do we know that what we are doing is right? What is right to me may not be what is right to you. How do you justify that? If you say that we can justify it through ethics, you will be better speaking out of your arse! My ethics and your ethics are not the same! Therefore, there can never be an overarching ethical concept that we can draw upon as suggested by you. More importantly, right and wrong has nothing to do with ethics at all! That is but an ignorant interpretation by small-minded men who fail to truly grasp the wisdom of our predecessors! Our actions shape our beliefs, therefore it is our actions that determine the ethics of a situation and not the other way around! You may think that actions are formed by beliefs but that is an illusion! I do not do what I believe in, but I believe in what I do.
If I were a soldier and I go to war to fight, it is either because I am protecting my home or I am there to kill my enemies. What is patriotism? What is courage? What is bloodlust? These were not ideas that shaped the reason behind why I decided to fight in the war. It is because of my reason that I soon assume these ideas as part of my own mindset in order to complete my goal. Patriotism is something I can only experience by first marching forward to defend my home. I can only learn to truly love my country after loving my own home. Courage is a feeling that I can only achieve in the battlefield by charging head-on. I can only receive courage after going forward and leaving my fears behind. Bloodlust is a desire that I can only be exposed to after tasting the fresh blood of the battlefield for the first time. I can only desire bloodlust by knowing exactly what it means to spill blood with my own hands. But patriotism is a sign of good ethics, is it not? So is courage, is it not? And bloodlust is a sign of bad ethics, is it not?
Wrong! It is the choices that we make that determines the right or wrong of a result! And we do not always make these choices consciously, nor do we possess the godly wisdom to truly approach them with a truly enlightened mind. Therefore, it is not ethics that shape our actions, but our own actions that shape our own perceptions of ethics! Right and wrong may be inherent, but we all understand it differently! There are also limits! It may be considered good ethics to help the elderly, but if you foolishly spend all of your money on helping them you will soon run out of necessary supplies to continue living! It may be considered bad to act promiscuously, but sex is a natural instinct that poses no evil if practiced in moderation! So where do we draw the line?!" The madman now eyed the scholar with a triumphant gleam in his eyes. "Where do we draw the line, oh scholar?"
The scholar opened his mouth but no words came out. After a good minute or so, he finally said, "B-But ethics drive our actions—."
"Our actions are driven by our own ignorant desires!" corrected the madman with a cruel smile.
"P-Propriety is a sign of good ethics!" attempted the scholar.
"Propriety is common sense, not ethics!" again corrected the madman. "Laws and rules and actions form our ethics, which in turn form our beliefs. If perhaps the idea of murder was never perceived as wrong by our fellow men and we were allowed to practice it, if the actions itself held no sinful meaning and there was no law against it, political or religious, would it still be considered wrong? If we humans, the hairless bunch of ignorant beasts we are, perceived the action of murder as we did making love, would we have condemned it as we did now? If we did not even understand the reason behind the established "wrongful nature" of killing others, would it still be counted as a sin? Perhaps it is because we understand it in a way that eludes that of other animals. Perhaps it is because we perceived it as a barbaric practice and would rather try to ensure the survival of our own species. Perhaps this is why we come to agree it as a wrongful practice. But even if we did, it was not our understanding that made this act an example of bad ethics. It was our own actions of refusing to give in to the primal nature of it, of wanting to promote unity between our own kind, and of refusing to continue practices that could put ourselves and our loved ones in harms way that turned this once common and primitive practice into an example of bad ethics."
The scholar was at a lost of words yet again and he folded his fan. The madman simply looked at him with an annoyingly smug face. With a defeated whine, the scholar walked back to join his friends and they immediately left the inn. Meanwhile, Shun listened to the madman's words with admiration. He had never thought of it that way before. 'Perhaps there are more than one way to look at things,' he told himself.
Later that afternoon, Shun, at the recommendation of some locals, decided to eat at "Golden Feast", the city's top restaurant that specializes in Eastern Region cuisine. He entered the restaurant and looked around. The atmosphere was very new to him; there was a calmness to it despite the bustling business, weaving the cacophonous sounds of chatter into a sort of melody that seemed harmonious at times and discordant at times. Everyone appeared to be on good terms with each other regardless of their individual relationship. And the people didn't pay attention to Shun at all nor appeared to care that he was a foreigner. 'Perhaps it's because they see foreigners on a daily basis,' he concluded, which wasn't that far from the truth.
In the midst of his observation, he spotted a familiar disheveled figure sitting alone at a table and drowning himself in alcohol. The other patrons paid him no mind and the staff actually seemed pleased with his presence. It was the same madman from the inn where he was staying. When it was time for Shun to be greeted by the host, he pointed at the madman and the host's face lit up. Without another word, the host led Shun to the madman's table. The madman paid them no attention and left Shun to take his seat. Shun was a little confused at first but decided to play along because he didn't want to insult the staff. "Pardon me," Shun said with a bow and took the seat opposite the madman. The madman paid him no attention and continued to drown himself in wine.
A servant came to take Shun's order. Shun looked over the menu and settled for a plate of Braised Speckled Hog Over Spring Vegetables and a Ginger Blossom Soup. For a drink, he chose a cup of Dragon and Phoenix Tea. The servant brough him his order and Shun thanked the gods before partaking in his meal. As he ate, the madman continued to ignore him. The silence between them wasn't the least bit tense, but Shun couldn't help to feel a little bit strangled by it. It made swallowing his food a little harder.
"Another!" shouted the madman, breaking the silence. A servant appeared and replaced the madman's empty bottle with a full one. The madman examined the bottle before taking a huge swig from it. He let out a satisfied sigh and slammed the bottle onto the table. "Good wine! Really good wine!" he laughed merrily. He finally noticed Shun sitting opposite of him and frowned. "What are you doing?" he asked Shun.
"E-Eating," replied Shun.
"With that?!" exclaimed the madman, pointing to Shun's teacup. The madman glared at the teacup with a strong look of distaste. He looked about ready to smash it to pieces.
'Is that what's bothering him?' thought Shun in bewilderment. He now thought the man strange and erratic and impossible to figure out.
"If you want to enjoy good food, then do it with wine!" scolded the madman. He then took his bottle and thrusted it out to Shun.
Shun was taken by surprise and could only blink while he tried to regain himself. "I-I don't drink," Shun kindly told the madman with a shake of his head.
"Nonsense!" objected the madman.
Shun was about to say that he was only thirteen years old, but then remembered that the age of thirteen already made him a legal adult. "I'm not much of a drinker," Shun attempted, switching gears instead to find some kind of excuse that could get him out of this situation. The madman was now glaring at him. Shun shrunk a bit from his glare and dropped his chopsticks. Out of desperation, he gulped and said, "If I drink your bottle, you wouldn't be able to finish your wine. And you said that this was good wine, too. I wouldn't want to take away your joy."
The madman gripped tightly onto the wine bottle as Shun's words sank in. "A smart reply," he finally said. He took another swig from the bottle and let out a roaring laugh. "I like you, kid! No one had ever dared to deny my advances before, nor had they done it with words like yourself!" The man called over a servant and ordered food. Once it arrived, he said a quick prayer and then proceeded to eat. "Say, boy, you're not from around here, are you?" said the madman through bites of his food.
"How did you know?" asked Shun in surprise.
"How else? The way you speak, of course," said the madman. "Though you have some Eastern features in your prosody, I would assume that you originally came from the South. It's the way you glide over some of the consonants and how the vowels sometimes blend into each other."
Shun cleared his throat. "Yes, you are correct," he told the madman. This time, Shun took great care to pay attention to how he spoke and made sure to do his best to speak in a more standard fashion. "I actually witnessed your debate with the scholars in the inn that I am staying in," Shun told him in a more positive voice.
"Bah! Scholars my foot!" cursed the madman. "All they do is quote from books and appreciate ideas without even understanding the nuances of them. Do you know why? It's not because they're stupid, though I wouldn't put it past them. But it is so that they can flaunt their ego and carve out a path for them with the ladies." He then leaned closer to Shun and whispered, "They use their big brains to compensate for their blunt knives." That comment made Shun blush and cleared his throat to regain his composure. The madman, meanwhile, took a swig of his alcohol with a look of complete nonchalance.
"I've listened to your words," said Shun, steering back the conversation to the first topic, "and I couldn't help but agree with what you said. Though, I admit, my learning of the topic aligned more with what the scholars were saying."
"Then that means that your teacher was an idiot!" said the madman bluntly.
"He wasn't!" protested Shun.
The madman let out a roaring laugh that sounded like clashing thunder. "I really like you, I do!" he said merrily. Shun cleared his throat once again. "Say, what's a kid like you doing here far away from home anyway?" the madman suddenly asked Shun once he sobered up.
"I am an adult," Shun replied.
"How old?" asked the man.
"Thirteen," answered Shun confidently.
"I see," said the man with a nod. "So, what are you doing here? Don't tell me that you're out on an adventure to make a name for yourself as a Hero. Are you even prepared to face the world of Duelists?"
"That's not exactly why I'm here," Shun told him honestly. After a slight hesitation, he revealed to the madman his reason: "I am on a quest for revenge." As he said that, he had his eyes glued to the table. 'He might tell me to return home, that there's no point,' Shun thought to himself. That was exactly what he expected to hear because he knew just how ludicrous it sounds. And even if it weren't for that particular reason, the man would for sure persuade him to do otherwise or even stop him. Shun based this on how his friends and teacher reacted to him. They may've let him continue with his selfish request, but he knew exactly what they were thinking and what they really wanted to do. He knew that if any of his own friends decided to do this exact thing, he would've stopped them all the same.
"I see," said the madman casually. He then took a swig of his alcohol and said nothing else.
Shun was bewildered by the madman's unexpected response. "Y-Y-You're not going to stop me?" asked Shun.
"Why?" came the madman in an irritated voice. "Am I your father? Your mother?" Shun quickly shook his head. "What qualms do I have about a kid like you seeking revenge? How does it concern me? It's your decision, is it not? Whether you decide to go through with it is your own choice. Those people who think they have a moral obligation to, to guide you down the 'right' path, the moral path, can light their own arse on fire. Oh, how self-righteous are they to instill unto you their own brand of morality and ethics. Tell them to take their garbage and shove it down their own throats!"
"What are your thoughts on revenge?" Shun asked the madman with a tinge of guilt in his voice.
"Are you going to kill the man?" asked the madman with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, isn't that what revenge entails?" asked back Shun with a tilt of his head.
"Fool!" shouted the madman, slamming his fist on the table. "Your thinking is too naive for me that I would rather talk to a plant than to you!" The man shook his head and sighed. "What is revenge? It is the exactment of vengeance upon a transgressor, is it not? It is the dealing of judgement upon an enemy, is it not? Now, where is it written that vengeance and judgement must result in death? Has is been written in some universal rulebook that a revenge cannot be called revenge if there is no blood spilled, no soul vanquished, and no bones to bury? Only fools think that way! Is a young man rebelling against his controlling father's wishes not in itself revenge? Is alerting the authorities to get back what was stolen from you by a thief not an act of revenge? Or how about a dog pissing on the grave of the owner that has abused it all its life? That, I tell you, is the best form of revenge yet! Let your enemy live their worthless lives to the end, and then go piss on their graves so that their spirits stink all down to the gates of hell!"
Shun stifled a little giggle upon hearing the madman's last few words. But he understood what the madman was saying. Shun was indeed naive in his thinking. He had equated revenge with death and thought the two ideals inseparable. However, the rage he had inside of him would not give up on the idea of killing the man responsible.
"Revenge should be done in proportionate to the crime committed," finished the madman. "And what's wrong with killing anyway? The action may appear gruesome and cruel, but what matters is the intention. Killing may end lives, but it can also save lives. Otherwise, the world would be a big pile of shit."
"Why is that?" asked Shun.
"I would be out of a job!" answered the madman hysterically. He let out the same roaring laugh as before and chugged down his alcohol.
"Wh-What is it that you do?" asked Shun.
"I fight for a living and punish bad guys with my own sense of justice," replied the madman merrily.
"A Duelist! You're a Duelist, are you not?" asked Shun excitedly.
Suddenly, one of the servers rushed up to them and screamed out, "Trouble! Trouble! There is trouble in the city!"
The madman took a swig of his alcohol as the server explained the situation: a group of bandits had taken a group of people hostage at the nearby bank. After listening to the server, the madman stood up and threw his finished bottle to the ground, smashing the bottle into a million pieces. He let out a satisfied burp and then walked out of the shop. Shun, curious to see what the madman was going to do, quickly stood up and followed after him.
The bank was a long stone shop with a metal roof above it. In front of it, a group of bandits had indeed taken a group of people hostage. The hostages were bound and gagged and had among them women and children and the elderly. The bandits had noticed the madman walking towards them and immediately drew their broad sabers. "Who are you?" asked one of the bandits.
"Mak Denshura once said, 'A bandit is born of a bastard father and a whore mother. How do I know? Because all they do is cheat and lie and become a slave to their own desires. Hence, they are cheating bastards and money whores, the lot of them.'," quoted the madman.
"What did you say?!" shouted one of the other bandits. "We'll cut out that smart tongue of yours!"
"Oh, but I can be smarter," said the madman with a smirk. "If you bandits are strong, then why take hostages? Taking people justifies your weaknesses. It tells me that you are scared and weak and unconfident in your skills, which is why you attempt to attain some bargaining chips in order to feel that you are in control of the situation. But you are not. That is the truth."
"Let's kill this bastard!" said another one of the bandits.
The madman let out a guffaw and said, "Kill me if you must, but it will never prove your strength. Instead, it will only serve to strengthened your image as cowards."
One of the bandits walked out to meet the madman. It was obvious that this bandit was the leader of this unruly gang. "Then what do you suggest we do to prove our strength?" asked the bandit leader gruffly.
"How about a challenge? If you win, you can do what you want. If I win, I win," said the madman.
"You don't want anything for your victory?" asked the bandit leader suspiciously.
The madman simply nodded his head with a smile. "I propose that we partake in a test of strength. Surely you men are sufficiently trained in Chidao. So, we will pit our Chi against each other."
"Hah! Do you think that we are stupid?" said the bandit leader.
"Are you not confident in your own strength?" asked the madman.
The bandit leader knew very well that the madman was goading him to accept the challenge, and it was true that he was little scared. However, his pride as a man won him over in the end and he accepted the challenge. He put out his hand with his palm open. The madman did the same and they slapped their palms together. The bandit leader forcefully sent out his Chi and tried to overwhelm the madman. 'This will end you,' he thought victoriously to himself. Suddenly, he felt a burning sensation flowing through his arm and his flesh felt like it was being roasted inside an open fire. The pain became unbearable and he pushed away, screaming in pain and clutching his right arm.
"Looks like I win," said the madman with a happy smile.
The other bandits immediately surrounded the madman. "You bastard! What did you do to our leader?!" demanded one of the bandits.
By this time, Shun had arrived to the scene. The madman turned to him and said, "Take care of the hostages." Shun nodded his head and quickly ran to free the hostages from their bondage. As he did, he watched with amazement at what happened next. The madman was unfazed by the group of bandits and breathed in deeply in a state of relaxation. His chest raised up as he took the breath and, in a flash that was quicker than lightning, he unleashed a massive attack on the group with just a simply twist of his hands. The attack took the form of a large wildfire that suddenly appeared out of midair. The flames reached the height of large walls and its heat could be felt from ten miles away. The intensity was too much for the bandits and they quickly cleared out, screaming and yelling as their clothes were being singed by the flames and their exposed skin blackening from the heat.
"Hahahahaha! Serves them right!" laughed the madman.
Shun was amazed at what he saw the madman accomplished. And for the first time, he could clearly make out the man's features. The madman was tall and skinny, but far from lanky. He had a thin mustache over his top lip and large bulging eyes like black diamonds. His nose was a little pudgy, but this feature was quite unnoticeable unless one were to focus on it entirely. His skin was a little darker than Shun's and his long black hair was tied in a messy knot. The man's dark red robes was dirty with grime with tears at the sleeve and stains in various places; it was obvious that he had worn it all his life. Yet, despite his rather uncouth appearance, the man carried about him a very dignified air. It wasn't elegant or refined like the dignified air of nobles and the elite, but possessed an iron will of confidence and pride that would inspire fear and admiration unto everyone who came across him.
After the incident was resolved, Shun followed the madman back to the restaurant. The madman celebrated his victory with a drink. As he did, he sung loudly to himself a rather vulgar song that made Shun blush. Despite this, Shun watched the madman in awe. 'If I want to succeed in my goal, I must grow stronger,' he had told himself the entire way back. With a gulp to steel his nerves, Shun finally said what he wanted to say. "Please, take me as your student!" he requested the madman.
The madman stopped in his revelry and frowned. "Where did you get that idea from?" he asked Shun.
"I want to grow stronger," Shun told him. "I want to be able to complete my quest satisfyingly with no room for error. I want to do everything I can to do what I need to do. And to do that, I need to grow stronger. I am painfully aware of how weak I am right now. So, please, take me as your student!"
The madman unleashed a roaring laughter that shook the walls of the restaurant. "You are one interesting brat!" laughed the madman merrily. "Alright, I guess I can teach you a few tricks," he accepted.
Shun couldn't believe it. He totally thought that the madman was going to refuse him. And he had even prepared many arguments to try and convince the madman to take him on as a student. But it looks like he was worrying for nothing. "Why did you accept me so easily?" asked Shun curiously.
"Because I like you!" answered the man simply. "However, I do have one condition."
"Anything!" said Shun.
"I bet that you used to live quite the pampered life," said the madman keenly. "You had a roof over your head, food on the table, and clothes to wear. However, you cannot expect the same things while travelling. And it looks to me that you are inexperienced in these matters. So, if you want to be my student, you will have to learn to live like us."
"Us?" asked Shun.
"Well, speak of the devil!" said the madman happily.
Shun turned around to see seven figures approaching their table. They were the weirdest collection of people he had ever seen! Despite being taken aback by the way they looked, Shun remembered his manners and greeted them earnestly.
"Kid, these here are my brothers and sister," said the madman.
"Brother, who's the kid?" asked one of the group members.
"He's our new student," said the madman with a smile.
"Really? How did it happen? Aren't you drunk right now? I can't believe that you would do anything of this nature while sober," came another member.
"Ah, shut it!" snapped the madman. "Listen, I really like the kid. He's good and maybe a little too honest, but he's got spunk."
"A kid has caught the eye of Big Brother," said another member, intrigued. "He must be a really interesting fellow."
"What his name?" asked the only female member of the group.
"Oh, it's…." The madman realized that he had never asked the boy his name.
"My name is Junlong Shun," introduced Shun.
"Shun!" repeated the madman merrily with a laugh. "Now, let me introduce you to the group."
The first member was Ren Shianu, known as the Castaway Monk. He was a tall and imposing figure with broad shoulders and a strong chin. He had no hair on his head or face and sported a content expression; his eyes were a soft blue. He wore the robes of a monk, though its colors were grey and brown rather than the traditional yellow and orange. In one hand, he carried a string of prayer beads. Unlike the rest of his companions, he walked barefoot and his feet were grey with dirt and sand.
The second member was Dento Chikriyattu, known as the Barren Noble. He had long hair that was tied in a bun atop his head and a luxurious beard graced his face. His eyes were a fiery reddish brown and he had a slightly pudgy nose. His figure was the most rotund of the group, though he was far from fat, and he was also the shortest of the group. The man also had rosy cheeks and appeared to love to laugh as shown by his constant smiling expression. His clothes were quite normal and quite dirty, but acceptable by societal standards.
The third member was Oa Yanyun, known as the Thunder Thief. He was the second tallest of the group and had a very thin but fit figure. His face was a little on the long side and he had sparkling eyes the color of bright yellow amber. A small patch of hair on his chin, combined with his untied spiky black yellow-streaked hair, gave him quite the wild look. He wore a strange uniform that Shun had never seen before and a bright yellow scarf around his neck.
The fourth member was Det Vanu, known as the Wandering Minstrel. Like Oa Yanyun, Det Vanu was quite skinny but fit. He was perhaps the most handsome of the group, sporting a clean face, chiseled features, and elegantly tied hair. His eyes were a mysterious gray that seemed to charm anyone who sees them. He wore the robes of a scholar and carried a metal flute in one hand.
The fifth member was Jingu Airan, known the Living Anomaly. Of the entire group, they were the most ambiguous to discern. It was impossible to be certain whether they were a beautiful man or a handsome woman, but there was no doubt that they were indeed pretty like a spring flower. They had soft blue eyes, pristine white skin, and red lips that were no doubt glossed with rouge. Their hair was long, stretching down past their shoulders, and tied at the top with a hairpiece keeping it together. Their clothes were quite stylish and gaudy, a testament to their taste and knowledge in fashion. In their right hand was a hand fan.
The sixth member was Warana Ein, known as the Calamity God. He was the youngest of the men and had shoulder-length light blue hair that wasn't tied at all. His eyes were an even colder blue that appeared to freeze anyone who made eye-contact with him. Even his expression was gloomy and distant and conveyed his desire to be alone. His skin was pure white like fresh snow. He was clad in robes with a small coat over his shoulders.
The seventh member was Lusho Meina, known as the Poison Rose. She was the only female of the group. Her beauty was comparable to a fairy and made all flowers wither in shame. Her skin was immaculate and young and supple; her eyes were a kind green and radiated grace and elegance; and her long, brown hair was silky and smooth like milk. She was dressed in a beautiful robe with an elegant flower design.
After finishing up the introductions of the other group members, the madman realized that he was the last one left. "Lastly, you have me," began the man with a smirk, "the leader of the group. I am Li Shien, the Mad Scholar. And we are the Eight Guardians of Gold Peak."