Buffeted by the wind, the old lawyer shuddered as a troubling thought suddenly struck him.
"Soss, I asked you to feed my Phoenix-tail Bird. Have you fed it?"
"Yes, Teacher," the young man walking through the blizzard replied without turning his head.
The old lawyer clutched his chest in realization—his apprentice was dead.
The apprentice in front of him was an impostor; he never had a Phoenix-tail Bird, nor had he ever fed one.
His hand moved to his waist as he gripped the handle of his Revolver, "Soss, you've been of great help all this time."
"Oh, it's nothing, I'm just doing my job for you, Teacher," a hint of a smirk sounded in his voice.
This exchange should have been heartwarming, but the old lawyer took a deep breath, "Soss, wait a moment, stop."
"Teacher..." The young apprentice came to a halt and turned around. Beneath the streetlight, he saw the old man in the blizzard, revolver in hand, looking at his apprentice with utter sorrow, "Where has my Soss gone?"
