The atmosphere at the Drifting Cloud Pavilion died down as the restaurant staff started their clean-up, and Zhu Lian resolved the situation with the Mo family, the operation returned to normal
De Ming and Li Wei picked a good seat upstairs and sat down. A silence stretched. De Ming kept fidgeting, thinking of ways to break the ice, but his anxiety sealed his mouth shut
Noticing De Ming's difficulty, Li Wei reached out his hand, offering a handshake
"I'm Li Wei, inner disciple of the Wudang Sect."
De Ming quickly reached out his hand and shook Li Wei's delicate yet firm hand
" De Ming, I am uh… Miss Zhu Lian's bodyguard?"
" It's complicated, huh? I understand, I'm not here to pry."
Li Wei chuckled a bit before steering the conversation
"What you did earlier was brave, Junior Ming."
Li Wei praised before his expression turned serious, pointing his index finger at De Ming's injury
"But you understand that to uphold justice is to be strong, right?"
His piercing gaze met De Ming's
" I was careless and overestimated myself".
De Ming bit his lips, his hand tightening into a fist unconsciously as he reflected upon his mistake
"Why didn't you keep your Qi flowing after your initial palm? It would have allowed you to sense the thug's approach."
Li Wei raised an eyebrow as he recalled De Ming shutting off his Qi flow mid-combat, a careless and frankly arrogant thing to do in the eyes of conventional martial artists. Maintaining one's Qi flow during combat enhances their reflexes, strength, and endurance; shutting it off mid-combat was akin to removing one's own armour and dropping their weapons
"It's not that I wanted to… Keeping Qi flowing was too painful. How do martial artists bear this pain and not even react? I don't understand."
Li Wei's face flashed with alarm
"Pain? Circulating Qi causes you pain?!"
Li Wei suddenly stood up, looked around, and turned back to De Ming
"Does Miss Zhu Lian know of this?"
Li Wei inquired, his tone unusually frantic
"No? I have yet to tell her, I don't want her to think I can't handle the strain of Qi flow."
"Junior Ming… there is no such thing as the strain of Qi flow, Qi is natural to your body, it should feel warm and healing…"
"Huh?"
De Ming let out a surprised yelp at the revelation
"Follow me, Junior Ming, we mustn't speak of this here."
Li Wei gestured for De Ming to head out with him to find a quiet place to continue their talk
De Ming reluctantly agreed and followed suit
=====================================================
Li Wei and De Ming headed for the nearby dock, renting a small wooden boat and a paddle. They drifted to the middle of the slow-flowing river, cutting across the middle of Golden Carp Town.
Li Wei stood gracefully with a paddle in hand, calmly steering the boat while De Ming sat on the boat's bow, a wooden fishing rod in hand, one of the tools he brought for his travels.
As De Ming was patiently awaiting a bite, now way calmer due to his focus on fishing, he spoke up
" So, Senior Li, why were you so alert? I get that there isn't supposed to be pain and all, but is it such a big deal?"
" Call me Li Wei, such formality is unnecessary for us."
He paused, his tone turned serious
"The pain you describe, De Ming, when did it start?"
"Right when I tried out a cultivation technique, the Qi Gathering Breath technique, I breathed in the ambient Qi, it gradually filled up my dantian for the first time, and then it just started to gush out, tormenting my body."
Li Wei raised an eyebrow
"And by it, you mean?"
"My Qi, it was and still is very erratic, just having my dantian open puts a major strain on my meridians, like maggots and sharp needles squirming inside me."
De Ming felt a bite and reeled up a medium-sized carp, he smiled proudly while Li Wei was deep in thought
Li Wei's face turned solemn at De Ming's description, it was even worse than he had feared
"De Ming, why do you wish to be a martial artist?"
The question came out of nowhere, catching De Ming by surprise. But he offered an earnest answer anyways
"I wanted to change my fate, martial arts was the only way I knew how-"
"Give up"
As De Ming was giving a heartfelt explanation, Li Wei suddenly interjected in a grave tone
"What do you-"
De Ming dropped the carp in shock, and it plopped back in the river. De Ming put his fishing rod down and turned to Li Wei
"You are cursed, De Ming."
Li Wei said in an aggravated manner, not at De Ming but at his misfortune
"Cursed?"
"Your Qi, you must know that it is not normal, it damages your body upon use, does it not?"
De Ming wanted to refute, but Li Wei's right; he didn't want to acknowledge it, but he knew full well that his body was slowly deteriorating every time he trained
"You have chaotic structure syndrome, an innate dantian and spiritual deformity that causes your body to only produce erratic and volatile Qi, terrifyingly potent, but harmful to use, your body will tear itself up from within."
He paused, shallowly catching his breath, his eyes revealed a deep-rooted pain as he continued
"Someone cursed by the heavens with this condition can never make it as a martial artist, you'll die trying, give up De Ming, it's for your own good."
De Ming frowned, biting in inner lip in frustration as he contemplated his options. He's made it this far; how could he stop now? Does he have to return to being just another lowly and looked-down-upon servant?
No, no, not like this! If the heavens themselves wanted to hold him down with these chains, then he shall use these very chains to strangle every last one of those who stand in his path!
"I refuse! My journey will not stop here, Li Wei! Even if I have to break down my own body, I, De Ming, will fight against fate, and win."
De Ming proclaimed loudly, sending ripples across the slow-flowing river surface as he turned his back to Li Wei
Li Wei's face turned from one of concern to anger
"I was wrong about De Ming. You are not brave, you are not righteous, you are foolish! And nothing more!"
Li Wei shouted, a stark contrast to the graceful image he'd shown since their initial meeting at the Drifting Cloud Pavilion
De Ming breathed in, preparing to refute, then paused
He saw that Li Wei had tears streaming down his face
"I had an elder brother, De Ming. He had the same condition as you do, and even his symptoms weren't as severe as yours."
Li Wei spoke solemnly
"I looked up to him, he was a prodigy, a once-in-a-lifetime genius, incomparable even in our Wudang Sect's long history. At first, the chaotic structure syndrome couldn't slow him down; he had endured its strain, quickly rose through the ranks, and even became a sect elder."
Li Wei's eyes wandered off into the distance, his expression the embodiment of pure melancholy and regret
"But as his cultivation grew, his Qi became more volatile and unpredictable, even with his mastery of our Wudang arts, a plethora of advanced techniques emphasizing Qi harmony and control, he could not fully suppress his symptoms. At just the age of twenty-two, he attempted to break through the Master Realm, his Qi broke free from his control, and consumed him whole. My brother, my esteem, and brilliant elder brother"
Li Wei's body trembled as he recalled the state of his brother's corpse
"Died painfully, unable to even keep his body intact."
De Ming's face softened into one of sympathy
"I'm sorry for your brother-"
"Don't be! He's gone, that matter is through."
Li Wei snapped at De Ming
"Be sorry about yourself, De Ming! Quit now if you don't want to suffer from an even worse fate, even my brother, a Wudang prospect, couldn't save himself, what makes you think you can do better?!"
"I don't… I don't think I'll fare as well as he did."
"But, I can't give up, I'll manage, somehow"
De Ming spoke seriously as he stared into Li Wei's grieving eyes
Li Wei wiped his tears. He wanted to scold and condemn De Ming, but his unwavering gaze was enough evidence that nothing could convince him otherwise
Li Wei sighed and started to paddle back to shore
"If you're wise enough, you'll give up and return to wherever you came from."
Li Wei paused, debating whether or not he should say his next words. He cursed his own sympathetic nature as he parted his lips
"But if you're still too stubborn to stop, before you leave, find me at the Autumn blossom Inn, I'll accompany you, I'll do my best to ensure what happened to my brother doesn't happen to you, I do not wish to watch another prospect walk into their own grave"
They arrived at the dock, Li Wei paid the rental fee quietly and left without a word
De Ming tightened his fist in resolution as he walked aimlessly down the busy street, his mind racing with uncertainty and defiance