It was more than a cliche, but it was only a cliche because it worked, almost always.
Yu’s mother was sick, and had been in and out of hospitals and health centers for quite some time now. He was faced with the also cliched dilemma of either getting passive treatment at a cheaper price, or paying for a much more expensive surgery with a higher survival rate. With almost no option at hand, people came to him, offering to purchase inside information from the Kshiti Temple. At first it was just information about daily ritual routines, then they asked for some non-public manuals and records, then they asked for information regarding the temple’s monks and scholars. And when he realized these people were up to something extremely dangerous, they put the Heart Gu on him and told him to continue spying for them. And their latest demand? Take out as many Elders from the temple as possible. They even supplied a list.
“How long ago was that? ” Guangyuan Deng asked: “Did they give you a deadline?”
“Five days ago. ” Yu answered: “They said - they said I have delivered at least one hit by tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Guangyuan Deng turned to the Elder: “Now, Elder, if you trust me, I can take him to a health center. I have some questions for him and you as well.”
“I’d suggest you stay here for a bit.” The Elder shook her head, pointing at the sanctum in which Mick and his parents were in: “Let’s do it there?”
“...okay.”
“Wupeng, keep an eye on him out here.” The Elder nodded and led the rest of the group to the sanctum.
“So - as you can probably tell.” After sitting everyone down by the table on which Mick was lying, the Elder said to Guangyuan Deng while extending her hand at Gloria and Kevin’s group: “Our friends here, they just came back from something - something big, that may have something to do with the ‘big changes’ you mentioned. So - ”
“But - do I know you from somewhere?” Tae Kuo threw out a question he had been holding for a short while: “I felt like I’ve heard of your name.”
“People used to call him Senior Deng, and if he kept at it he could have been an Elder, just like me. You’ve been working at Fuman for a while, Sifu Kuo, so you surely would have read some of the instructions and documents written by him.” The Elder responded, fixing her eyes on Gloria: “And young Gloria, Senior Deng’s time started before your participation in these affairs, but he’s an old acq - old friend of your mentor. They used to work very closely, until - until everything escalated and fell apart.”
“Luoshan is your mentor?” Guangyuan Deng immediately focused on Gloria: “How - how is she?”
This was somewhat of a surprise, so Gloria did not yet have a decision on how she would react or respond: “She’s doing good - I hope. We actually split up earlier and I am still waiting for any news from her.”
After a quick confirmation with the rest of those who participated in the quest, Gloria and Tae Kuo retold what they did in the datacenter. Guangyuan Deng’s facial expression changed from surprised, to concerned, to saddened but relieved. His eyes became red when he heard about what Master Liaoran did.
“A datacenter, of course.” Guangyuan Deng took a long sigh: “And - to think that they actually ended up like this - ”
“Who’s ‘they’? Members of ‘the council’?” Kevin asked.
“Yes.” Guangyuan Deng sighed: “Back when I was still here - involved, we had to fight against these people. They had deep connections to both the city and the community collective. Eventually, after a lot of things, we lost - and many had to run. I was one of those who were lucky enough to make it out, after paying a price, of course.
“And while away, some of us kept tabs on what had been going on in the city. I still have my skills of understanding Feng Shui and watching the flow of - well, Qiyun, so I stayed hidden but close. We knew eventually what the council did would not work, we were just not able to stop them. We did not expect things to deteriorate this fast though …”
“So, why come back? What do you wish to achieve here?” Tae Kuo asked.
Guangyuan Deng hesitated: “Maybe to get some closure. And maybe - ” he hesitated once more: “To see if I can help, anybody, in any way. None of us really have a solid idea. We just have - things to do.”
“How many of you?” The Elder wiped her eyes.
“Not as many as I’d hoped. But luckily not just me.”
“Where are you going next? ” Kevin asked again: “And what are you planning to do next?”
“I cannot involve you in it. My apologies.”
“When are you leaving?” Tae Kuo thought for a moment before asking.
“Just when I catch my breath. So soon.” Guangyuan Deng smiled, shaking his head: “We’ll meet again. I hope.”
“Zishan Cafe.” Gloria raised her voice: “If you want to see her. Go to Zishan Cafe.”
“Zishan Cafe.” Guangyuan Deng pondered the meaning of the word for a brief moment, before nodding at Gloria with a smile: “Thank you, young woman. I will definitely visit - some time.”
“Don’t wait too long.”
Sorry my readers, only one upload this week. My computer needs repair and I will make it up next week.
