The lonely star in your sky [Xu Kai]

The fateful day

That reminded her ,her very first rhyme on her shifu. It was originally a one line poem. She modified it into a haiku.

His white robe flutters
To the rhythm of my heart
Thousand stars witness

She jotted down it on a paper and smiled to herself. She remembered the fact that she lost her first portrait of shifu, but she thought it happened for good,as she can draw a better portrait of him next time.

Seeing the early bird at her desk, Jing Ling strolled towards her teasing. Thank God she had enough time to hide her rhyme, for she didn't know he had already seen it. However, he wasn't a lover of poems.He didn't understand it last time and would not understand it next time, too.

"Seems the moon cakes had a real effect on you," He said, still smiling.

Qin Ru sticked her tongue out to mock him before she replied him back.

"Do you know what had a real effect on you?" She asked.

"What???" He asked, thinking he just  dissed her ,but nah... too early to be happy.

"Me!! You were moody and dull, but look at the change now. All smiling and bright. You should have thanked me. " She winked at him.

Jing Ling had to accept the defeat,as she was very correct this time.

"By the way,are you here for lessons?" He asked, changing the topic.

She nodded her head like an enthusiastic kid.

" He will teach you this week ,but next week, he would not have a chance,"  his reply alarmed Qin Ru.

"Why is that? " She asked irritatingly.

Jing Ling let out a sigh before continuing.

" Upcoming week master is going through the last two steps of his trial to be a true god." His face was a little gloomy when he uttered  that.

"Isn't that something to rejoice? Why are you brooding." She doubtfully asked.

"I am indeed happy for him,but when I remember what he has to go through to attain the position,  I feel scared." He replied to her with a long face.

"But ,you told me he went through a lot even during my absence for the last hundred years, so shifu will endure it this time too," She reasoned him.

"I admit. He went through a lot,but the next two steps of the trial are the harshest among all. "

Qin Ru was agitated by Jing Ling's words.

"What hardships lies ahead? Maybe we can help him."

She uttered in wanting to console herself as her heart ached for him.

" He has to go through the 49 heavenly thunders. 20 thunders will occur here itself. If he survive them, the next 29 thunders will occur at the God releam before the Chief God. Then, only he can become a true god."

She knew heavenly thunders were not a joke. Such one thunder ( lightning) had  the capability of burning down a  whole village. So surviving twenty could have brought calamity to a god ,but she wanted to believe in her shifu no matter what.

" What...if s.....Shifu is gonna survive them all. He had gained immense power throughout the  past thousands of years. You once told me he had been cultivating for almost a thousand years when you met him for the first time. So that makes his training runs for more than two thousand years. He can definitely survive them. Have faith in him." She replied hopefully.

"I do have faith in him. I am telling it's tough. " He cleared her misunderstanding.

Qin Ru understood his concerns towards his master,so this time, she talked to him in a friendly manner to ease the mood.

" When his most beloved, bunny soul and the fiery pheonics are here,no harm will befall him. Let's make it happen that way. "

Jing Ling nodded his head, encouraged by her words.

During the day ,when she was learning the hierarchy of the beings and their duties towards the three releams,she couldn't help but look at shifu's divine face in concern. She remembered the conversation she had with Jing Ling the early morning.

She didn't want to lose her shifu. He was family to her. Morethan family to her. She wanted to stop him from becoming a true God,but who was she to do that? Nothing but a  low rank spiritial being .

His eyes were on the ancient script,but suddenly, his eyes met with hers. Not to say he was taken aback by the look in her eyes. It wasn't the same cheerful, enthusiastic,witty look she always had. It was filled with affection, concern, and fear. That look could penitrate his heart.

He casted down his eyes,not being able to bear with her gaze. Anyway he had improved a lot. Earlier, he didn't look at others in the eyes. By the time he had surpassed that hurdle ,but still, he wasn't ready for this.

Also, he needed to keep his image as her teacher,so he addressed her , keeping his cool image.

"Do you wanna die a short-lived death?"

Qin Ru ,who just came out of trance, hearing shifu's voice , asked for clarification.

"Shifu.....what.. did you say?"

"I asked you whether you wanted to die younger or live a long life?"

"Of course I want to live a long life,"

She completed the other half in mind.

"with you." She smirked.

"But if you gonna idle like this, you are not going to. You can only live up to......"

Before he could go any further, she stopped him because she didn't  want to hear him reveal her life span. For she knew he could read them in her natal chart ,if he wanted to.

"Shifu...I promise ,I want slack off. So we were on this page. The hierarchy of....."

She went back to her studies right away.

He was the only one who could handle her. That's because she admired him the best.

During the next few days ,she got to learn basic hand postures and standing postures. The best thing she learnt among them was the three call spell. Which was a spell to call someone in need of help.

As Jing Ling said before master refrain from attending the classes next week. He was solely focusing on his meditation,two days in a row. The next day was a gloomy Wednesday.  Dark clouds were hovering over the ambience,making the world small. The moroseness was what Qin Ru could see from everywhere.

"Jing Ling, what happens next?" Qin Ru asked with a wavering heart.

"Today evening,master will go into the formation,and then a protective barrier will appear around him right after he steps into it."

He let out a sigh before continuing.

"And then the heavenly thunders will occur, one after another. We can do nothing other than watching, " He explained to Qin Ru, wearing a dejected face.

"So once he went into the barrier, he cannot come out?" She asked.

Jing Ling nodded his head, approving it.

"Nothing can break the barrier from the outside. When the heavenly thunders are over, the barrier will automatically lift up, " Jing Ling further explained.

Finally, Qin Ru understood what's gonna happen.  She didn't want to witness, shifu get hurt,but she was left no other choice.

She prayed for the chief god to make him safe,over and over again.

As scheduled by the heaven,Lu Yan entered into the formation and stood there in the middle. There wasn't a shadow of terror on his face. Next, he brought his palms together to make a hand posture (a mudra) and stood there in the formation, waiting for the first strike.

All of a sudden, the wind stopped, the dark clouds squeezed into one place, making a hollow in the sky . Then....then the silence.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Silence before the devastation.