Chapter 4: A Child’s Dream (4)

Time was an illusion, it felt like aeons were in the passing as I was with this lad. The winter's eve that I waited for the last six months was right in front of me. One-Hundred-Twenty-Four Participants, and we have prepared for a fine session. The training ground was refurbished to last long enough, and for spectators, some of the garden areas surrounding the grounds were cleared. It was all ready.

The event was set to take place over five days. And on the fifth day, whoever wins shall become my permanent disciple and successor to my wealth. I didn't expect the people to respect me to this extent, I was only content with it.

The first day will hold a total of Sixty-Two duels under two groups. Thus, eliminating sixty-two. I only desire a strong disciple. On the second day, two more participants will be eliminated by voting. The remainder of the sixty persons will go through another round of duels. The third day will see fifteen duels, and of the fifteen survivors, five will be eliminated by voting. The fourth day will see five duels, and one person from the survivors will be voted out. The final day will have two duels to decide the final two competitors, and the winner of these two will be the next owner of this Pavilion.

"Wang Lei, tomorrow is the day. I can only wish for the best now," I stated as we both sat together in the room, about to hit the sack.

"Yes, I know," Said the boy who had completely changed. His hair has grown to an extent where he had to tie it up in a ponytail. He had built a robust body from all the chores and lifting that he partook in. His face upon closer inspection revealed to me that he was a soon-to-be thief. A thief of hearts to be precise.

He still insisted on sleeping on the floor, stating that he was used to that.

Somewhere deep within, I wished for him to win. I didn't want to let go of him after the following five days. I wanted to watch him grow. My affection towards him has grown, and maybe the fact that I was alone for so long has prompted me to consider him as family.

"Wang Lei, I always wanted to ask you, what is your dream?"

"I haven't thought about it, yet." He said, just like the last time.

"When I was your age, I desired to be strong. I recklessly spent my father's earnings to join the Hwasan Sect. And here I am, a failure who managed to remain an external disciple for over forty years. But I am not regretting it because it was a dream, and I fulfilled it." I turned about in the darkroom to look down on him from atop the bed."Having goals is important,"

"You talk about Sects, Martial Arts, and other things that I've never heard of. The other day, a brother here mentioned Qi. I had no clue about it and pretended to know. Now that I think about it, maybe I want to travel the world and know things by experiencing them for myself. I thirst for knowledge, perhaps." He responded.

"The world isn't kind,"

"I know,"

"I want you to stay with me here, even after the tournament. I am late to say this, but all these maids only care for me for money. I need someone to call family. Will you stay?"

He looked into my eyes and remained silent.

"Why? What happened?!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm sure that you will find a good successor through this tournament."

"I see, so you've decided..." I was saddened, I must say, "I am no one to stop you. You are meant to fly."

"But I need funds to spend on my travels, can you help?"

I instantly rejected it.

"But why?!"

I stated that it was my money, so I decided what happened with it. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he turned his face away from me.

I did that because I was selfish. I was the most selfish person I had seen. No one could parallel me in that. I was a bastard. I wanted to have this kid for myself.

"He was not meant to fly! He was meant to stay here since I saved him from starvation!" I thought.

I was selfish!

I was a bastard!

But...

Just like that, the dark sky's stare put me to sleep.

The next morning was grand. I woke up early to see the kid disappear from where he was. I anxiously ran around looking for him. I feared losing him.

The pavilion, no.

The gardens, no.

When I finally saw him on the training grounds, my heart was put to rest. I breathed in quick succession as I approached him. He was swinging his wooden sword diligently when I abruptly gripped his arm.

"Where were you?" I asked.

"I just woke up to warm up for, you know, the tournament."

Why was I afraid?

"Lin, I thought about it. You don't have to give me any money. You aren't wrong. After all, this relationship is only contractual. Forget what I said. I'll be leaving anyway."

"Whatever, brat!" I barked and walked away.

Later that morning, the first round of the tournament had begun. All the kids fought in front of me in pairs of two, one after the other, trying to grab my attention. But I was busy thinking about Wang Lei.

"Next, Wang Lei! And Jun Feng!" The instructor beside me yelled. My eyes were glued to the two boys who ascended the short stairs to the platform. Many cheered for Jun Feng from the sidelines, but I was the only one who secretly rooted for Wang Lei, the unknown boy.

Both of them held their swords firmly and then charged towards each other. Wang Lei was visibly faster than the kid who was both taller and older than him. He dodged his opponent's vertical strike by moving aside and then put all his strength into one clean strike on the opponent's stomach. The opponent, unsurprisingly, felt unable to fight. Everyone chatted about this lad from the sidelines, but only two people who were Jun Feng's parents wept.

The remainder of the duels took a long time to finish. It was dusk's hour when the final duel was over.

On the second day, the instructors eliminated two people due to bad skills. Thirty duels followed, and this time around, they were all over by noon's time.

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I awaited Wang Lei's fight, and when it occurred, I was always excited. But within, I was sad that I had to let him go.

Wang Lei again won the match by dodging his opponent's strike and also the second strike, then he snuck up behind his opponent and struck them with great vigour. Again, his opponent was older than him by a year.

On the third day, fifteen duels passed by quickly in comparison to the other two days. But I was dismayed.

Wang Lei was matched with a person who was six years older than him. I protested against the instructor's decision, but they warned me that changing the rules to suit someone would tarnish my reputation. I was left with no choice and awaited the match.

Wang Lei lost. He lost after taking two strikes from his opponent's bare fists.

Later that day, the instructors eliminated five people through the voting method.

"Wang Lei, you tried your best. Don't be sad," I tried to console the boy who ran into the room and wept over his loss.

"But... I tried so hard! I was weak! I told you that I wanted to learn those dances, but you declined!" He cried. His remorse turned into anger very quickly.

I sat beside him and told him, "I lost many times. I am a loser who ran away to the countryside where no one will be able to beat me. Do you still want to see a world where people are much stronger than me? They can kill you in an instant with their thoughts!"

"Exactly! I want to see for myself! I have been confined in that alley for too long! But when I met you, I realised that there were kind people! Now I realise that there are strong people! I want to see for myself. I don't want to be confined again!"

I was taken aback.

I had no words to utter.

I left the room.

The next morning, before the hens clucked, and before the sun left the horizon, I was at the entrance of my institute. No soul other than me and Wang Lei were awake.

He had packed some food, clothes and other necessities, for god knows how long he will travel, and how far. We both had no words to utter. After a while, he walked away.

I turned my back and contemplated my time with him.

I didn't give him a single penny except for those thousand coins he had already used since he insisted on paying for the physician.

He would starve.

He won't survive.

Those clothes will tear.

He will be back on the streets.

He is naive.

He is a brat who doesn't listen.

More than all, he is someone who I can call family.

I didn't hesitate to shout, "Stop!"

He listened and turned around. He dropped his sack and asked me what I had stopped him for.

I ran back into the pavilion and rushed into my room. My wardrobe was stuffed, and I searched for a bag. I found it and grabbed it, holding it as if it were something precious, but in reality, it was worthless.

I was hesitant, for I didn't know if a ten-year-old was old enough to roam the dark world. I was unsure since I thought that I would be putting him in danger by letting him go. I wanted to stop him by force.

I took deep breaths after coming back to him and stood there for a while as I tried to get words to utter. I was tired of it, tired of it all. I just had to let go, and just let go of my desires. I didn't want a successor anymore, I realised that what I wanted was to live an eventful life with no loneliness, and for an eventful life, I needed to embrace everything that comes my way.

"What is it?" He asked curiously.

"Ten-Thousand Coins, all that I have now. Quick! Take it!"

"What?!"

"If you don't take it quickly, I might regret this and put them back in the wardrobe!"

"I'll take them! Don't think, just give them!" He blurted anxiously.

"Keep it, it will help."

"I don't want to be indebted though," He stressed

"Then come back someday, I'll wait. You can repay me then." I chuckled and bawled.

"But I still don't get why you'd give such a huge amount of money to me,"

I smiled and realised that the bird had to be set free. I knew that I couldn't keep it caged for long. I knew, that it was time to let go. After all, my life is ending, but his is beginning.

I looked him in the eye for one last time, "Well, I just realised that those coins won't follow me to hell, only the memories with you will."

And I don't want those memories to be bitter.

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