Chapter 36: Enlightenment

"Stay away from Princess Yue," growled Pakku as he stared at the young blind man, Genji.

"You can't do this..." Genji said as he pouted. "You can't stop me from meeting Princess Yue."

"Yes, I can. I just did so."

Genji frowned and was about to say something when Pakku suddenly interrupted.

"Stay away from her or I will have you kicked out of the city," said Pakku as he glared at Genji.

"Fine, whatever."

With an annoyed expression, Genji turned around and walked off.

"... And stay away from her!" shouted Pakku as he watched Genji leave.

Smirking, Pakku watched as Genji disappeared under the light of the moon with suspicion in his eyes.

'Approaching Princess Yue constantly... just what is that boy planning...'

***

Walking back to the palace with a sad look on her face, Yue ran into her father who was waiting for her at the entrance of the Palace.

"Father..." muttered Yue after noticing her father.

"Where have you been, my dear daughter?" asked Arnook with a serious look on his face.

"I..."

"Did you go somewhere?"

Yue hesitated before answering, "No... I just wanted to talk to someone..."

"Was that someone the wanderer, Genji?" asked Arnook with a frown.

"Ye-"

"I don't want you to meet him anymore. Pakku has told me that he's a suspicious figure."

"He's not suspicious!" exclaimed Yue after hearing her father call Genji a suspicious person. "He's nice and kind!"

Arnook's eyes narrowed and he turned to look at Yue with irritation.

"How could you raise your voice at me?! I'm trying to protect you. Go to your room! As punishment for talking back, you will be locked in your room for an entire week."

"But fath-!"

"No 'buts', go to your room!"

Yue bit her bottom lip and looked at her father with a look of unfairness and tears in her eyes before running away.

"Chief..."

A nearby elder saw what happened and was about to say something regarding how he's treating Yue before being stopped by Arnook.

"I know what's best for my daughter. This is for her own good and safety. Until I know that this Wanderer 'Genji' is a harmless person, I won't allow them to meet."

The elder sighed and shook his head slightly before looking to where Yue ran off to before walking away.

Arnook then called out to the guards stationed outside the palace, "Go and stay put outside my troublesome daughter's room and guard it. Prevent her from leaving for a week."

"Yes, Chief."

"Good grief..." muttered Arnook as he thought about Yue. "Why must you defy me?"

Arnook shook his head in disappointment before leaving and meeting up with someone in his office where he meets with the elders of the tribe. There was only a single person inside the office.

"How did it go, Chief?" asked the figure as he drank some tea.

"Could have been better," said Arnook as he sighed and walked over to his chair. "How did things go on your end, Master Pakku?"

Pakku smiled and said, "It went pretty well. He talked back quite a bit, but quickly quieted down when I threatened to kick him out of the city."

Nodding, Arnook smiled, "Good. Let's hope it stays that way. Make him join you for practice so it can make it easier for you to keep an eye on him."

"Of course, Chief. It'll be done."

After saying their farewells, Arnook left the office and headed to his bedroom.

Pakku finished his tea soon and left as well with a smile on his face.

...

In her room, Yue looked out the large window in her room and sighed as she thought about everything that had just happened, starting with Hahn.

Right after he had appeared before her, Yue began to feel like something was wrong.

...

A couple minutes before...

"Princess Yue! What a coincidence..." said the man as he looked at Yue with a smirk.

"Soldier Hahn..." muttered Yue as she smiled at the young man's sudden appearance. 'What is he doing here...?'

"It's such a coincidence seeing you here, Princess..."

Yue giggled and asked sarcastically, "Here? Next to the palace?"

"Huh?" Hahn turned to look to his side and quickly remembered where he was. "R-right! I knew that..."

"Why are you looking for me, Hahn?"

"I have come here looking for you for a single reason..." said Hahn as he smirked and reached his hand into the inner pocket of his coat.

Suddenly, Yue began to feel even worse.

"I-I have to go!"

Quickly walking away, Yue tried to separate herself from Hahn and try to escape before suddenly feeling something hold her hand.

"Don't go!" said Hahn rapidly as he held Yue's hand and revealed a look of worry. "Princess Yue, please accept my gift!"

Yue's body shook and she refused to look at what Hahn was planning to gift her. However, curiosity beat her to it as she opened her eyes to see what it was.

In Hahn's hand was a nice necklace with a metal that was carved by hand.

Yue's heart felt tight as she instantly knew what it was.

'Betrothal Necklace...'

Yue's heart began to ache and she felt her mind become messy as she tried to think of something to reject it.

Seeing Yue's flustered actions, Hahn was about to shove the betrothal necklace into Yue's hand to make her accept it. However, before he could do it, he slipped and fell on the ground, dropping the necklace on the ground and letting go of Yue's hand.

Thud!

Hearing Hahn fall on the ground, Yue snapped out of it and felt like she had regained some calm. She looked at Hahn on the ground as he fumbled to grab the betrothal necklace and just when he was about to grab Yue's hand again, she pulled back quickly.

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"What are you doing Hahn!" fiercely spoke Yue.

"Huh?"

Hahn froze and looked at Yue with a bit of surprise, not expecting her to speak up like that.

"I'm not at the 'Age of Marriage' yet. To give me this betrothal necklace now is like you're ignoring a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation," said Yue as she took a couple of steps back as she looked at Hahn with a serious look on her face. "Go home, Hahn, I won't be accepting your betrothal necklace."

Hahn frowned and clicked his tongue, "it's because of that newcomer, isn't it!"

"Newcomer?"

Yue frowned and shook her head at Hahn.

"Genji had nothing to do with this, Hahn."

"Ha!" Hahn scoffed and smirked, "I'll make sure to give you my necklace on your 'Coming of Age Celebration'... I already have your father's permission."

With that, Hahn walked away, leaving Yue behind with a sad expression as she thought about the last thing Hahn had said. She couldn't believe that her father had just given her away like that.

...

Yue let a tear fall after remembering what had just happened to her.

Hahn proposed to her... Her father approved it already... She got locked in her room for a week... her father prevented her from meeting Genji...

It was like everything was suddenly going bad for her.

'What will I do now... this place... it's so unfair...'

With a teary face, Yue looked out the window as she felt helpless and sad.

***

The next morning, Genji stopped meditating and sighed as he thought about what had happened the prior night.

'To think that they have already begun to move to keep me separated from Yue,' thought Genji as he remembered Pakku's words. 'If they approached me, they must have told the same thing to Yue.'

Exiting his house after dressing up, Genji felt Pakku standing in front of his house.

"Morning... Pakku," greeted Genji as he faced Pakku with a frown look on his face.

Pakku smiled after noticing Genji frowning before walking away.

"Follow me kid. Starting today, I will be giving you some free lessons in waterbending."

Genji smirked inwardly and thought to himself, 'My Waterbending is already at level 36. I don't think there's much for you to teach me anymore, but I'll see what he can teach me.'

...

Walking over to the training area, Genji and Pakku arrived and stood there for a couple of seconds.

Pakku turned to look at Genji and smiled, "Today's training will only be composed of you and me. The others will be doing some meditation to maintain a close connection to the water and moon."

Nodding, Genji didn't say much.

"Alright, bend some water and go through the motions of how you were taught," said Pakku as he stood back with his hands behind him as he looked at Genji.

Genji took a deep breath before moving his hands and bending the water around him. With smooth and flowing movements, Genji bent and moved the water around like it was as easy as breathing. After a few minutes, he finished and stood there facing towards where he last heard Pakku.

"Good job kid, you didn't wet yourself at all," praised Pakku with a smirk. "It's amazing how far you have come with such a crude style. Your skill in waterbending is amazing, but it holds no style and it doesn't seem like you understand the essence of waterbending."

"Style... and... essence of waterbending..."

Genji went quiet and began to think about what Pakku had said. It was like he understood something but couldn't quite put his finger on exactly what he had understood.

Pakku noticed the confused look on Genji's face and smirked.

"Style. It's the way your moves flow and how they properly connect with each movement and skillset you possess. It makes it easier to connect moves, add new moves, and even create new ones," said Pakku, letting out what he knew about styles. "Other bending styles learn from animals that can bend, but us, the waterbenders, we learned from the spirit of the Sea and Moon."

Genji furrowed his eyebrows and felt like he was getting closer to what he felt like he had understood, he was just a touch away, but he didn't understand from what.

"What you lack most, is essence. Just how deeply do you truly understand water and waterbending?"

"What... do I understand of water and waterbending..." repeated Genji as he thought about what it was he understood about it.

"You know how to bend water, right? But you don't really understand the essence of waterbending or what it means to be a waterbender. That's why you don't understand the importance of style and essence."

Genji continued thinking about what Pakku said as he walked around the training area while pondering about water and the concept of bending it.

After a few minutes, Genji stopped.

"I understand what you mean by essence now," said Genji as he turned to face Pakku. "But I still don't get it. What is this 'Sea and Moon' thing?"

Smiling, Pakku replied, "The Sea and Moon are the spirits of the water and the moon. They are the two powers that control water. We bend the water to our will because we have connected ourselves with them."

"So... I'm supposed to connect myself with the sea and moon?" asked Genji as he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, but not with their physical bodies. Rather, you must feel the energy of the sea and the moon within you and then you will understand the true meaning of waterbending.

Push and Pull... push and pull..."

Pakku began to waterbend and immerse himself in bending water as he felt himself grow calm.

Genji's mind focused on Pakku's words of 'push and pull' and felt like he had touched upon something before beginning to waterbend as well. With the single idea of pushing and pulling, Genji lost himself in the feeling of waterbending. As he pushed and pulled, he felt the water move in front of him and become controlled. His mind grew calmer and he could see the water more clearly. Then, he saw it. The images flashed across his eyes as he began to feel a strange sensation inside him.

[Ding! Skill level up!]

[Ding! Skill level up!]

[<Adept Waterbender> (Lvl. 38)]

[Ding! Skill level up!]

[<Meditation> (Lvl. 17)]

[Ding! New skill learnt!]

[<Attraction and Repulsion (Lvl. 1)>]

[ - Active Skill.

Attract and repulse various items and beings. Currently can only manipulate small items and light items less than 10 pounds/ 4.5 Kg.]

[System Remark: Now go attract those girls! Just don't repulse them...]

[Ding! New skill learnt!]

[<Mystic State> (Lvl. 1)]

[ - Passively Skill.

Enhances abilities/techniques/styles/skills as well as control relating to energy and spirit (Waterbending, etc.).

+50% enhancement of strength ,and range (to applicable skills), to skills.]

[System Remark: You must be quite lucky! To think you would achieve something like this, host.]

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