Chương 25: Mysterious Teacher

A gentle voice reached into Zhu Long's ears. "It seems you have completed your meditation. There must have been a lot of things in your mind for you to take so long."

Zhu Long looked up and came to face with a gentle-looking person smiling at him. Zhu Long was taken aback to see that the person who played the Zither turned out to be a man and not a woman! He shook his head and awkwardly smiled back, "I'm grateful to you for providing me with such a wonderful melody, it helped calm me down and also think of things through..."

Zhu Long expressed his gratitude sincerely, the stress his been carrying has put a great weight on him, which has brought so many burdens leaving him all puzzled and trouble all the time.

"Hehe, I only played the Zither. You, a trespasser barged into my mansion and started to meditate to the melody of my Zither." The man spoke firmly yet his tone was soft to the point that it sounded so girlish.

Zhu Long smiled wryly, "I was expecting to meet the Qiang Village Head but... It seems like this is the residence of the mysterious Ku Wang..?"

The man looked to be perplexed but continued to smile. He looked deep into Zhu Long's eyes as if he was searching for secrets and said, "It seems like you are pretty smart boy. You are correct, I am Ku Wang, The Third Elder of the Qiang Village and you must be the well-known Brother Lin..?"

Zhu Long smiled, "Indeed, I am. It is a pleasure to meet the third elder."

"Haha, Don't call me elder, I am around the same age as you. Just call me Brother Ku." Ku Wang said warmly. He seemed to have no bad intentions towards Zhu Long. If he did have bad intentions, he would have already attacked Zhu Long during his meditative state, for it's when a person is at their most vulnerable state.

Ku Wang looked at Zhu long's body and then turned away suddenly, "You... Your clothes, your clothes are torn up."

Zhu Long looked weirdly at Ku Wang. He then looked at his clothes. The wonderful black gi was all torn up and had a deep scent of blood on it. Zhu Long smiled wryly and took off his gi, only leaving his legs covered leaving his upper body almost completely naked. His muscles were built like a sculpture had hand crafted them. It looked absolutely perfect. The Dragon mark that ran all over his upper body had a deep red color and looked extremely real. Zhu Long noticed that the mark was also a lot bigger than before and its aura was also more powerful.

Ku Wang looked at Zhu Long again in astonishment. He looked at Zhu Long's figure from top to bottom, his gi which was tattered and filled with a strong scent of blood. Which could only mean that Zhu Long had gone through a harsh battle before reaching here. Ku Wang had also noticed the deep red mark on Zhu Long's body in bewilderment but quickly shook his head.

'I must be overthinking, that mark ... He must have artificially put it on his body. It can't be that can it?' His head was racing while thinking of possibilities of what the mark could be.

Zhu Long noticed Ku Wang's gaze. He smiled and thought, 'It must be weird seeing someone else's body completely covered with a mark.'

He then glances at the mark on his body then faces Ku Wang and inquired, "I wonder if Brother Ku has some spare clothes for me? This is a bit troublesome..."

Ku Wang looked at Zhu Long and answered, "Of course, I do have spare clothes for you. I can't just let my guests roam around my home half-naked. Follow me, I will give you some clothes."

Ku Wang turned around and walked towards a small building. Zhu Long followed Ku Wang as he looked around the garden.

"It must be a bliss living here, the flowers itself uplifts one's soul and the scent is just wonderful." Even though Zhu Long always has a cold expression on his face, he was not the type of person who can't appreciate true beauty.

"I thought Brother Lin was a very cold and rigid person, but it seems like I was mistaken. It seems I have misjudged you, Brother Lin, for it seems even someone like Brother Lin has a gentle side." Ku Wang added as he opened the door to the small building. He looked back at Zhu Long and smiled again.

Zhu Long said nothing and smiled back. He seemed to be unusually open towards Ku Wang 'It must be because I was able to meditate, as well as the general environment here, it's very warm and welcoming. It seems to be too good to be true.' He thought while following Ku Wang into the building.

The interior of the building was also exquisite, inside a small table stood in the centre with a well-crafted vase on it. The vase was filled with yellow flowers. The room also had a small bed, a small kitchen area, and a sitting area making it a very suitable place for a quest to stay.

Ku Wang beamed at Zhu Long while pointing at a closet," See that closet, there are some fresh clothes for you in there. There is also a bath ready for you. When you have freshened up, come outside, my teacher wants to talk to you." He said in a commanding but also soothing tone.

Zhu Long seemed to be dumbfounded from Ku Wang's sudden change in manner, but he didn't let it bother him and shook his head. "I had some questions for you but I seem like I will have to save it and ask your teacher."

Ku Wang quietly exited the room and closed the door. Zhu Long glanced in the room and sighed. 'It seems like what I was feeling was in fact correct, I was indeed being watched and the person who was watching me must be this Ku Wang's Teacher. He had already known that I was heading towards this direction, so he got this room ready for me... Things are about to get even more interesting. But at least I don't feel any malice in the air.'

Zhu long walked towards the bath.When he entered the room, he saw a huge tub.

The tub was filled to the brim with herbal water. When Zhu Long entered the tub, he felt very relaxed. And his body was filled with vim. 'This bath must have medicinal properties, very lavish!' He said in his mind.

After soaking in the water for some time, Zhu Long got out of the tub. His face was filled with energy and his body didn't smell of blood any longer. He looked at the bath and smiled 'This 'Teacher' must have already known that I had gone through a roughshod battle, I wonder... Why is he treating me with such kindness?'

Zhu long went towards the closet tardily. He looked into the closet and saw various clothes within it. Among those clothes, only one stood out to Zhu Long, a night black gi with some red linings. It seemed to be tailored made for Zhu Long's tastes. Zhu Long took off his tattered clothes and wore the black gi. Zhu Long then took another look at the clothes within the closet.

'These... I must be overthinking.' He shook his head.

"I guess it's time to meet that mysterious teacher of Ku Wang." Zhu Long stated as he walked towards the door that exited the building he was in.