She remembered it was raining that day. As a result, they held their training session inside. She had run straight over from the fields, dried off, and changed into a spare outfit one of the quitters left. After doing the appropriate stretches and warm ups.
It was an intense session, capped off with the ultimate test; she had to score a single hit on Master Tsu. A tall task for even a highly-skilled warrior was much more so for a fifteen-year old student under his tutelage. After all, what could she do that he would see coming.
After numerous failing, she had decided to plot and cheat. First, she pretended to trip, which caused Tsu to let down his guard and try to aid his student out of concern. Then, when she was within strike range, she tackled him down and punched him in the shoulder. She celebrated by saying, "I got you!"
He gasped. Then he snapped, "Get off me, dumb girl!"
Instead off listening, she continued to gloat. "I can't be that dumb if you fell for my trick." She looked down into his eyes. "I knew you would fall for it. Admit it. This dumb girl got over on you."
He looked up at her with a look she couldn't recognize. It wasn't anger, nor was it joy. It wasn't even the look of pride she'd been so used to getting. It seemed to be a look of surprise and exhaustion, but not quite. Then he said, "dumb girl," and sent her flying with a Burst Fist to the stomach.
She remembered flying back into a wall and crashing to the ground. It hurt so much. She couldn't move her body. All she could do was look and, through the pain, grunt, "I'm sorry, Master Tsu. I didn't mean to make you angry." The last thing she remembered about the situation was a concerned Tsu running over to her. Afterwards, she woke up at home in bed and never saw Tsu again.
What happened after she passed out and before she woke up at home? Whatever it was, it was so horrible that it made Tsu disappear. She had to know...even if it hurt. She gathered up some courage, got out of bed, and headed out.
Chika, who was staying in the next room, happened to come out as well. "Is everything alright Xiang Wenling?"
"I'm fine...hopefully."
"I certainly can't leave you alone after hearing that. I'll come, too."
Chika's support might come in handy. "Thank you." With Chika in tow, Xiang left the inn.
After walking for a while, she came to the alley where she saw Tsu passed out last night. He was still there, downing a bottle of liquor. Two more empty bottles lay beside him. "Master Tsu…"
He looked at her, as drunk as drunk could be. "Xi-Xiang? W-what do you w-want?"
Xiang grumbled and balled up her fist. It hurt seeing him reduced to this. It made he sick to her stomach. It made her angry. She stormed right up to him and, yanking the bottle out of his hand, said, "Give me this freaking crap!" Then, she poured it out.
"No, I need it!" he said, crawling over to where Xiang poured it out and licking the dirt.
Xiang groaned and held back tears as her heart broke. She angrily grabbed him by the hair and made him look at her. "I can't believe how pathetic you've become. Passed out in alleys? Licking alcohol from the dirt? That not the Master Tsu I know."
He freed himself from her grip and sat back against the wall. Through slurred speech, he said, "The Tsu you knew is dead and gone. Can't you see that? I've vowed never to teach martial arts again, so what value do I have now? All that's left is a broken bum who's answers are at the bottom of a bottle."
"And how many answers have you found in the four years you've been like this?" Xiang snapped. "What answers have you been able to obtain passed out drunk in an alley? What kind of answers...can you give me?"
He let out a long, loud belch before asking, "So you still have stuff you want to know? Might as well answer your questions. So what do you want to know?"
Her questions wouldn't be too long. Drunk or not, he should know what she was asking. "Why?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I lost my way. Believe me when I say, you were truly my best student. It was a slow process, but for nine years you stuck with it. Your devotion was genuinely something to be admired."
"When?" she asked.
He looked into the air as if searching for the answer. After a moment, he finally answered, "It must have been right about when you performed the Burst Fist for the first time. It made me happier than you could know. Finally, my teachings seemed to be helping someone. What instructor wouldn't be happy when coming to that realization?"
Chika dropped to her knees and vomited.
"Chika!" Xiang said, kneeling to aid the dragon woman. "Are you okay?"
"I am sorry," Chika said. "This is...excrement. I cannot listen to it anymore. I shall be in my room if you need me." With that, she stood and staggered off.
In truth, Xiang wanted to vomit, too. Perhaps she would later. Right now she needed clarity. She needed to bear with it. She looked at Master Tsu again. "How?"
"I don't know," he said. "I truly wish I had an answer."
Now, for the question with potentially the most painful answer. "W-what happened after you knocked me out with the Burst Fist?"
He took a deep breath before answering. "Nothing. At least nothing harmful. I simply packed my bags and left. I knew I could no longer remain in that town. I could no longer be near you."
That gave her a great sense of relief. She could rest easy knowing that. There was just one more thing she needed to know? "I can channel energy through me fist and nothing else. You told me that the Burst Fist was just the the tip of the iceberg of the defense arts. I want to complete my technique. Where can I receive further training?"
He was silent for a moment. "So you're still serious about the defense arts, huh? As you're now aware, I can no longer teach you...but perhaps my teacher can. Go to the northmost mountains of Tzezhange Island. There, you should find a temple. Knock on the doors and ask for a man called Zhe Chou. He was already quite old when I became his pupil thirty years ago, but if he has any strength left in his body, he will teach you the remaining techniques of the defense arts."
She bowed and said, "Thank you, Master." Then, as she turned to leave, she asked, "What will you do now?"
"Heh, I don't know," he answered. "I will never take on anymore students, so I no longer have a purpose in this world, but I don't have the courage to kill myself or the will allow myself to be killed. I guess I'll just walk around drinking until my body stops moving...or maybe I'll get on a boat and sail around the world until a storm sinks the boat, taking me under the sea with it."
It hurt to hear what he had been reduced to. This man she once thought was so great. She lifted her hand up to her chest and clinched her fist. "So...you've decided to give up on life? I'm sorry if I did anything to bring this upon you, Master."
"Remember, the fault is not with you, dumb girl," he said. "It is with me. I've made my decision. Now it's time you got going and stopped wasting your time talking to a piece of garbage like me. Go, master the defense arts and live the life of happiness you were meant to live."
"Zhe Chou in the northmost mountains of Tzezhange Island, right?" she asked.
"Yep..."
With him in the mental state he was in, she might never see him again. She didn't know whether or not that was a good thing. What she did know is that if these were her last word to him, she didn't want them to be of hatred or malice. "Thank you, Master Tsu. Farewell."
