Chapter 23 (Dash's Secret), Part 2
Swally finally sighed, "You're at least right about that."
There was a lamp on inside.
Other than a lamp on the table, there was a piece of paper, a knife, and a jug of alcohol.
Big G had gone back to pull the knife out of the tree, and he certainly hadn't forgot to bring the jug of alcohol back as well.
Although he didn't look like a donkey, he was certainly as stubborn as a mule.
"I told you pulling out the knife would be fine, because I knew they weren't stupid enough to play the same trick twice, now isn't this something new," he laughed haughtily.
"Sure is something, even fresher than a fish in a net," Swally mocked him sarcastically. He picked up the knife on the table, "I know now whose skin they are planning to flay," he said.
Big G blinked, "Are they going to flay some fish?"
Swally: "You're right about that."
Big G: "Then I might as well be a drunken fish."
He lifted up the jug, "Drunken shrimp is a delicacy south of the Yangtze river, I'm sure drunken fish are great too," he mumbled.
Before he could take a swig Dash suddenly grabbed the jug from him.
Big G was shocked, "Since when are you an alcoholic like me?"
Dash: "You can't drink this."
Big G: "We were just drinking it not too long ago, why can't I have some?"
Dash: "Because that was then, and now is now."
Swally rolled his eyes, "Where did you place the jug just now?"
Big G: "By the entrance."
Swally: "And just now all of us were in the forest, was there anybody at the entrance?"
Big G: "Oh yeah."
Swally: "So you can't drink from this jug anymore."
Big G: "Do you actually think that they could have poisoned the drink in such a short amount of time?"
Swally: "That was more than enough time to poison eighteen jugs of alcohol."
"You all are making these people out to seem like monsters, do you think they're everywhere, and waiting for any opportunity to harm us?" Big G laughed in spite of their warnings.
Dash didn't say anything, but he walked outside abruptly and tossed the jug forcefully onto the ground.
The jugged shattered on the ground with and the drink flowing everywhere.
"What a shame..." Big G sighed while taking a whiff.
He instantly went quiet, standing there dazed.
A tiny snake slowly slithered out from the broken fragments.
It was extraordinarily small, but the smaller the snake the more poisonous they were.
Big G's face went pale, "Looks like these people really will stop at nothing," he couldn't help but take a long sigh of relief.
Swally gasped, "The Crimson Snake of Devastation. Is that actually a crimson snake?" He asked Dash shocked.
Dash's face was cold as iron, he slowly turned around and went back inside, sitting down beside the lamp.
This time, he didn't actually go and lie down on his bed.
Swally chased after him asking, "Was that really... Is it actually him?"
Dash sat there silently for a long time, but finally nodded his head slowly.
Swally exhaled loudly taking several steps backward, he instantly found a spot to lie down.
This time it was Swally who needed to lay down on the bed.
This time it was Big G who ran over asking, "What the heck is the Crimson Snake of Devastation?"
Swally: "It's a person."
His voice had turned incredibly weak and his entire body seemed to have slumped over.
Big G: "What kind of person? Do you know him?"
"If I knew him it would be a miracle that I'm still alive?" Swally smiled bitterly.
He suddenly jumped up and ran to Dash, "But you must know him?"
Dash stayed quiet for some time, but he finally smiled, "And I'm still alive."
Swally: "Staying alive after knowing who he is, that's nearly impossible."
"It truly is," Dash finally sighed, the smiled had gradually disappeared from his face.
Big G was practically yelling: "Are you two talking about a person? Or a snake?"
Swally: "A person."
Big G: "Is he called the Crimson Snake?"
Swally: "They call him the Crimson Snake of Devastation, because if you let down your guard down for even for a second his poison will devastate you."
Big G: "Let your guard down? Everyone has moments when they let their guard down."
Swally sighed, "So if he wants to poison you, there is only going to be one outcome."
Big G: "What's that?"
Swally: "Being poisoned to death."
Big G felt a tingle down his spine, "All of those traps just now were planned by him?"
Swally: "This person has an incredible talent for poisoning people, the best in the world, but he isn't very good at anything else."
"Then I'm not too worried about him," he sighed a breath of relief.
Swally: "Unfortunately he is not alone."
Big G: "Who else is there?"
Swally: "The thousand eye thousand hand Centipede God."
Big G: "A thousand hands and a thousand eyes?"
Swally: "It means that this guy can catch and throw hidden weapons as if he has a thousand hands and a thousand eyes. Apparently he has secret projectiles hidden everywhere, he can even release them from his nose."
Big G glanced sideways at Dash, "Excellent, all I have to do is punch this guy in the nose as soon as I see him," he suddenly laughed.
Swally stood there blinking, "But if you lay eyes upon the saintly Red Women, you could never bring yourself to hit her."
Big G: "A saintly Red Women? Sounds like a really good person."
Swally: "She is definitely a saint, she is aware of how much suffering there is in this world, so her heart is set on sending them all off to the next life."
Big G sighed, "When you put it like that she doesn't sound like such a good person anymore."
Swally: "She is certainly one in a million when it comes to being good."
Big G: "What are her special skills?"
"It's better if you don't know," Swally said seriously in a cold voice.
"Is she exceptionally beautiful?" Big G started blinking his eyes.
Swally: "She is older now, but she is at least a very pretty old women."
Big G: "Is she seventy or eighty?"
Swally: "Not that old."
Big G: "Fifty of sixty?"
Swally: "I don't think she is that old."
Big G: "Around forty?"
Swally: "Sounds about right."
Big G smiled, "That is perfect cougar age, how can you call her an old women?"
Swally glared at him, "What does her age have to do with you? Why do you care so much?"
Big G: "When have I cared?"
Swally: "If you weren't thinking about it then why are you smiling like a vagrant dog."
Big G: "Because I have always been an adventurous little dog."
Swally glared at him again but couldn't stop himself from smiling.
Big G instantly proceeded with another question, "Sounds like her skills are specifically for taking care of men?"
Swally's face went serious again, "It's not like I know how talented she is, all I know is that a lot of men have met their deaths at her hands."
Forest had been resting in a chair beside them with his eyes shut, "Was she the one who made the scarecrows?" he suddenly asked.
Swally: "Nope."
Forest: "Then who was it?"
Swally: "The Summoner of Death at first sight."
Forest frowned, "Summoner of Death?"
Swally: "This guy is full of evil plots, and he is good with his hands, changing disguises, getting information, and he is nimble with hidden projectiles, he uses strange weapons, and apparently he is a master with all of them."
There was a flash in Big's eyes, "I understand," he mumbled.
Swally: "What do you understand?"
Big G: "A snake, a centipede, a scorpion, a Taoist voodoo curse, now all that is missing is an eagle."
"Just now when Dash and I went into the forest, I saw a shadow fly away from the top of the tree where the net came from," Forest said hurriedly.
Swally: "Obviously there had to be someone in the tree otherwise how could the net fall down by itself."
Big G: "Where did they go?"
Forest smiled awkwardly, "Dash had already thrown me by then, I couldn't see where he went? Not to mention their Qingong was exceptional, he moved just like an eagle."
Swally: "The Soaring Eagle King."
Big G clapped his hands, "Five kites, and now we have five of them."
Swally: "The Eagle King has the best Qingong out of all five of them, and the most impressive kung fu overall."
Big G: "I still think the saintly Red Women is going to be the hardest one for us to deal with."
Forest: "Why?"
Big G: "Because we're all men."
"If men could control their lust, then it shouldn't matter how talented she is," Swally said coldly.
Big G sighed deeply, "But how many man on this earth are capable of that?"
Dash had been sitting there quietly the whole time, not even moving.
He would always avoid moving whenever possible.
Swally pulled up a stool and sat down in front of him, "When you saw the kites you knew that they were coming for you."
Big G also grabbed a stool and sat beside Swally, "So you tried to get us to leave, because you knew that disaster awaits any place that the five of these people visit."
Swally: "You didn't want us getting mixed up in this mess, so you tried to kick us out."
Big G: "But what you don't know is that we're already part of this mess."
Swally: "Since the day we first met you, your problems became our problems."
Big G: "Because we're friends."
Swally: "So no matter where you go, we will definitely follow."
Big G: "So it's too late to get rid of us now."
Dash was watching them, not saying a word.
He already knew that it wasn't necessary for him to add anything.
He was worried that he would be overwhelmed with tears the moment he tried to speak.
Friends!
Such a simple word, but how noble it was.
"You guys truly are my friends," he said one word at a time, while clasping his hands together.
This one sentence was enough.
As long as you truly understood the meaning of this sentence, then nothing else mattered.
Swally and Forest were both smiling.
Big G grasped Dash's hand tightly. This was all they needed to hear, it was more than enough.
They didn't ask how Dash had become enemies with these people or how it had all started.
If Dash didn't say, then they wouldn't ask.
There only problem now was how do we get rid of these people?
Swally: "I knew those kites meant trouble the moment I saw them."
Dash: "Those kites were a warning."
Swally: "Why would they warn you if they were coming to cause you trouble?"
Dash: "Because they want me to die slowly."
His facial expression looked uneasy, "Because they understand that the fear of death is more agonizing than death itself," he spoke slowly.
Swally sighed, "This sounds like a serious problem."
Dash: "Serious indeed."
Big G suddenly laughed, "It's too bad they made a miscalculation."
Swally: "Oh?"
Big G: "Although they have five people, we have four, so there's nothing to be scared about? Why wait in agony?"
Swally: "But they are at an advantage."
Big G: "Oh?"
"How do you defend against the enemy of deception, do you understand this saying?" Swally asked.
Big G: "I understand, but I'm not afraid."
Swally stared at him, "Then what are you afraid of?"
Big G: "You."
Swally laughed sweetly, but he quickly turned serious and turned away. He clearly understood what Big G was saying, because he felt the same way. People like them were only scared about people treating them too good, they were worried about getting too emotional. If someone truly found a place inside of their hearts, then they wouldn't hesitate to chop off their own head if you asked them to.
Big G: "When troubles arises, we can go with the flow, there isn't anything special about these kind of people, other than sneaking around and harming people, their true strength is actually quite limited."
He paused and then added, "The only question is when they will be coming?"
Dash: "Who knows?"
Big G: "Not even you know?"
Dash: "All I know is that unless they have finished me off they won't be leaving."
Big G smiled again, "It's too early to say who is going to be finishing off who."
This was the cutest thing about Big G.
He was always confident and full of optimism.
Even if he knew that the sky was falling, it wouldn't bother him. He truly believed that as long as you believed in yourself, then all things were possible.
He not only had faith, but he inspired confidence in others.
Dash's facial expression slowly started to brighten up, "Although they have a slight advantage, I know how to take care of them," he suddenly said.
"How?" Big G rushed to ask.
Dash: "Going to sleep."
"Only you would be able to think of a plan like this," Big G laughed in surprise.
"What's wrong with playing a little rope-dope," he asked rhetorically.
Big G clapped his hands, "That's right, let's get some sleep, then we'll have all the energy we need to take care of them."
Swally: "But we should take turns sleeping."
Big G: "Good point, I will stay on guard with you for the first half of the night, and after midnight Dash and Forest can take over."
"I think it's better if you and I are on the same watch," Forest suddenly said.
Big G: "Why?"
Forest glanced at Swally, "You two talk too much, and you would be so busy talking you wouldn't even notice anyone coming inside."
Swally instantly walked out, because he seemed to be blushing all of a sudden.
Big G: "I still think it's best for Swally and I to take first watch, we won't fall asleep if we're talking."
He was already walking out after Swally before he finished his sentence.
Regardless of what anyone else said, he would stick with Swally.
These two seemed to be tied at the hips.
Forest watched them walk away, "It's so strange, sometimes Little G can be such an idiot," Forest said loudly with a smile on his face.
Dash was smiling as well, "Don't worry, he definitely won't be an idiot about this for much longer."
Forest: "Actually I hope he stays stupid for a little longer."
Dash: "Why?"
"Because the two of them like this is indeed quite interesting," Forest smiled.
The living room was dark.
Swally walked into the living room and sat down.
Big G also walked inside and took a seat.
Starlight through the windows was reflecting on Swally's eyes.
He had such pretty eyes.
Big G was sitting beside Swally looking at him, "Did you know that sometimes your eyes look like a women's," he suddenly smiled.
"In what other areas am I like a women?" Swally asked with a straight face.
"Sometimes when you smile," Big G laughed.
"Since I'm like a women why do you always insist on following me?" He asked coldly.
Big G smiled, "If only you were a women, I would never let you leave my sight."
Swally suddenly turned his head away and stood up, he found some flint and lit the lamp that was on the table.
It was as if he wasn't willing to sit alone with Big G in the darkness.
The bright lamp cast his shadow onto the window frame.
Big G suddenly pulled him over as if he was going to hug him.
"You... What are you doing?" Swally gasped.
Big G: "If you stand there you're basically a living target for that thousand hand thousand eyes guy." His eyes suddenly brightened up, "That is actually a good idea," he muttered.
Swally stared at him, "Could you possibly have any more good ideas?"
Big G: "The Centipede likes to use projectiles, so why don't we find him a few good targets."
Swally frowned, "And who do you want to be his target?"
Big G: "The scarecrows. Let's move the scarecrows inside, and sit them down here, someone looking in from outside the window won't be able to tell they aren't real people."
Swally's frown disappeared.
Big G: "When the Centipede looks through the window he is sure to want to take a shot."
Swally: "And then?"
Big G: "We can wait outside, as long as he tries to take a shot we will have a chance to take him out."
Swally muttered something, "You think this is a good idea?"
Big G: "We have to try something, we can't just wait here to die, might as well think of a way to try and lure them out."
Swally: "Don't forget that even those scarecrows know how to hurt people."
Big G: "At lease scarecrows aren't alive, they must be easier to handle than actual people."
Swally sighed, "Fine! I will listen to you this time, let's see if your stupid idea actually works!"
Big G laughed, "At least a stupid idea is better than nothing at all."
The shadow from the scarecrows could be seen from the window, from outside it was nearly impossible to tell that they weren't actual people.
The scarecrows were not only dressed in clothes, but were wearing hats as well.
It was late into the night, the cold wind felt like cutting knives.
Big G and Swally were hiding below out of the wind, but they were still shivering from the cold.
"If we had some alcohol to drink it wouldn't be so cold," Swally suddenly said.
"Never thought there would be times when you needed a drink as well," Big G smiled.
Swally: "It's like writers and ink stains, if you spend enough time around alcoholics, sooner or later you're going to become one as well."
Big G smiled, "So sooner or later there will have to be a time when you enjoy the company of women."
Swally's face suddenly turned serious and he stopped talking.
"I never understood how someone like Dash could have made enemies with the likes of the Centipede and the Crimson Snake? They really hate each other," Big G said after a long time had passed.
"If you don't understand than its best not to think about it," Swally replied coldly.
"Don't you think it's strange?" Big G asked.
Swally: "Nope."
Big G: "Why not?"
Swally: "Because I am not interesting in digging up other people's secrets, especially when they are my friend."
Big G had nothing to say.
After a long wait they suddenly heard a strange sound.
"What was that?" Swally's face looked anxious.
Big G smiled awkwardly, "That was my stomach," he said with a sigh.
He was starving.
After another long wait they suddenly heard another sound.
Big G: "What was that?"
Swally bit down on his lip, "It was my teeth."
He was so cold that his teeth were chattering.
Big G: "Since you're afraid of the cold why don't you come closer?"
Swally: "Shh"
Big G: "What does that mean?"
Swally: "It means stop talking, if you never shut up than that Centipede guy is never going to make a move."
Big G actually stopped talking.
He wasn't afraid of anything, he wasn't scared about them showing up, and the only thing he was worried about was them not coming.
Waiting like this was extremely uncomfortable.
The most agonizing part of the whole ordeal was not knowing when they would appear. Perhaps it would be a few days from now, or it could happen at any moment.
Big G was thinking about using the fish net he had in his hands to capture Swally.
The net was light and soft, but it was made out of something very sturdy. Forest had brought it back, and now Big G was planning on using it on the Centipede: a tooth for a tooth, and eye for an eye.
The net was light, and Swally's heart was brimming with affection.
All of a sudden, a shadow shot past the wall as fast as an arrow, with a flip through the air dozens of tiny projectiles came flying through the window like a blizzard.
He was incredibly fast.
His throwing weapons were even faster.
Big G and Swally couldn't even tell from where he had shot the projectiles from.
As soon as the throwing weapons were released, his foot touched the ground and he instantly jumped back into the air, aiming for the edge of the roof.
As soon as he shot up he suddenly realized that a large net was coming towards his head. His momentum was carrying his body upward, and it looked like he had practically thrown himself in the net.
He struggled to free himself despite the surprise, but the net was like a spider's web closing in around him.
Big G was so happy he couldn't help from yelling, "Let's see you get out of this."
Swally hurried over and kicked the pressure point below his waist to prevent him from moving.
To their surprise dozens of throwing weapons instantly shot out from within the net.
This time it was Big G and Swally who were shocked.
In the same instant, a hook flew over from behind the wall and latched onto the net, there was obviously a rope connected to the hook.
And obviously there was a hand to pull the rope.
The net started to move.
Big G and Swally pounced towards the net the moment it started to be pulled up.
Swally and Big G were both surprised at the same exact time, but only one of them was targeted by more hidden throwing weapons.
All of the hidden projectiles were shot towards Swally.
So Big G was even more shocked and worried than Swally was.
He didn't know how to react, but he had already jumped towards Swally to shield him.
The two of them rolled across the ground.
Big G felt a burst of pain across his back, and then his whole body went completely numb.
Even his senses were going numb.
He didn't see the net pulled all the way up or the person inside jump out.
He was half unconscious and all he could make out were two screams, someone had cried out in shock, and someone had cried out in agony.
He couldn't tell who had screamed and who it was who had cried out in agony.
All he knew is that it wasn't him.
Because his teeth were already clenched shut.
People often scream and yell, but when you are truly suffering, there is too much pain to make any sound at all.
Big G was that kind of person.
Some people forget all about their own safety when they see their friends in danger.
That was just the kind of person that Big G was.
As long as he could move, he didn't care whether he lived or died.
The screaming gradually became distant, and then he couldn't hear anything at all.
What was this sound?
Was someone crying?
Big G opened his eyes to see Swally's face covered in tears.
Swally saw him open his eyes, "He's awake," he gasped joyfully.
"Only good people die young, a bad thing never dies, I knew he would make it," someone beside him said.
The voice belonged to Dash.
He always sounded cold and composed, but now his voice seemed to be shaking.
Big G looked at his face.
That cold and composed face of his was now full of excitement and emotion.
Big G smiled, "Did you all think that I was actually dead?"
He was trying to smile, but it looked more like he was crying.
Because his entire body ached whenever he smiled.
"Lay down and rest, you're not allowed to move or talk," Swally said while discretely wiping away his tears.
Big G: "Yes."
Swally: "Not even a word."
Big G nodded his head.
Swally: "You're not allowed to nod your head either, don't even move."
Big G surprisingly stayed still, but his eyes were wide open and he was staring intently at Swally.
Swally sighed slightly, "You were hit by a nail of death, a sleeve arrow, and two poisonous needles, you should be grateful that you're still alive, you almost didn't make it."
The corner of his eyes started to turn red as he was talking.
Dash sighed as well, "You not letting him speak might be even harder on him."
Big G: "That's correct."
"Looks like I am going to have to sew your mouth shut," Swally glared at him.
Big G: "I only feel the pain when I'm not talking."
Swally: "Yeah right."
Big G: "For real."
He wanted to laugh but he held back, "Because as long as I am talking, I forget all about my pain," he said slowly.
Swally was looking into his eyes but he couldn't tell if he saw compassion or maybe resentment? Or some kind of emotions that were hard to articulate, or some kind of affection that was hard to describe.
His face was definitely as pale as a sheet of paper.
It was already bright outside, and rays of sun were shining in.
Although it had been a painful evening, it had now passed.
"What about the Centipede?" Big G had to ask.
Swally: "He is now a dead centipede."
The agonizing scream had belonged to him.
"Is he really dead? Completely dead?" Big G needed to ask, because even if a centipede were to die, it would never fall down.
Swally didn't answer, but Forest replied.
Forest: "He had a quick, clean death."
Big G: "Did you kill him?"
Forest shook his head, "Swally did."
He suddenly smiled, "Did you ever think that under those circumstances he would be able to avenge you."
The thought had never crossed his mind, as he clearly remembered his body pressing down on top of Swally. He wanted to ask Swally, but he had already turned his head away.
Forest: "I wouldn't have thought so either, but as soon as the Centipede jumped out, a blade slit his throat and spilled his blood all over the ground."
Big G: "Was there only blood? What about his body?"
Forest: "Gone! The knife and body both gone."
Big G: "Dead people can't move."
Forest: "Because he was on his last breath, he must be dead by now."
Big G let out a sigh of relief, "Looks like they didn't get the best of us," he said happily.
Forest: "That's right, now it's four on four."
"Too bad I am only worth half a person at most right now," he smiled bitterly.
"They are basically three and a half people now as well," Dash suddenly said.
Forest: "The Red Women, the Crimson Snake, and the Summoner of Death."
Big G: "Don't forget about the Soaring Eagle."
Dash: "I didn't forget about him."
His facial expression suddenly looked strange, his eyes seemed to be staring at something very distant.
Big G: "The Red Women, Crimson Snake, the Summoner of Death, and then the Eagle King, isn't that already four."
Dash: "It's three."
Big G: "How is three plus one three."
Dash was staring blankly, who knows what he was looking at, and it was impossible to tell by his face what he was thinking about.
After a long pause, he started to speak very slowly, one word at a time: "Because I am the Soaring Eagle King."
Nobody had asked Dash about his past, because they all respected each other's privacy.
They didn't ask, and Dash didn't share. Dash's secret was finally revealed, and he had told them himself.
Dash wasn't born lazy.
He loved running around and moving about when he was a kid, in fact it was his favorite thing in the whole world.
He started climbing trees at the age of six.
He climbed every kind of tree imaginable, so he had also experienced falling from each and every kind of tree.
He had fallen various different ways.
The worst fall was when he fell head first, that time his brain had nearly split in two.
By the time he could hang from trees like a monkey, he wasn't interested in trees anymore.
Because climbing trees had become as safe as sleeping in his own bed, there was nothing exciting about that.
From then on his father had to arrange all of the household servants to go out looking for him.
Although at that time their family's estate was already in decline, they still had a few servants. Every time they found him and dragged him home he would be exhausted, as if he was about to fall over with the tap of a finger.
But he would still jump around lively like a fish fresh out of water.
Eventually nobody was willing to go out looking for him anymore.
They would rather chop hundreds of pounds of wood then go looking for him.
They would rather pack up their things and leave then to go looking for him.
So all his parents could do was to give up on trying to keep him at home, they would let him play as long as wanted to.
Fortunately he would come home at least once every couple of days.
He would have a shower, eat something and change his clothes.
He would ask for money to spend.
Because he was only twelve then, and he felt that asking his parents for money was the natural thing to do.
But when he was a little older, he felt that he should be more independent. His parents rarely saw him after that. Countless times his parents would secretly swear to themselves that the next time he came home, they would tie him down with an iron chain, or break his legs with a rod to prevent him from running wild away from home.
But the next time he came back looking like a wreck, dirty and hungry, their hearts would always go soft. The worst thing they ever did was bring him to the side study and lecture him.
His mom would be busy in the kitchen cooking up a chicken, and by the time his dad was finished lecturing him, he was already stuffing his mouth full with a leg of chicken.
Perhaps the only people on earth capable of understanding how they felt would be other parents with only one child.
A son or daughter would never understand those kinds of feelings.
Dash was no exception.
All he knew was that real men should venture out into the world and make a name for themselves.
So that's what he did.
He was only seventeen then.
He was more or less the same as most seventeen year olds. When Dash left home he was full of lofty ambitions and passionate excitement.
But after a couple of days with nothing to eat, he started to miss home.
During times like that he would feel empty and alone.
So he strived to make all sorts of new friends, obviously an ideal partner would be someone of the finer sex.
What seventeen or eighteen year old young man doesn't dream about love, fantasizing about romantic adventures?
There was a time when he was feeling extremely lonely, and he happened to come across the saintly Red Women.
She understood his lofty ambitions and she symphonized with his frustrations.
She comforted him and encouraged him, she talked him into doing all kinds of things.
"If a real man wants to truly live, he should experience all sorts of different things."
He believed everything she said.
"People should pursue money and fame, because we're meant to enjoy life."
Back then he didn't know that there were more important things than merely living for pleasure. He did whatever it took to become famous.
So he became famous.
By the time he was twenty, he had already earned himself an impressive reputation as the 'Soaring Eagle King.'
He truly enjoyed being famous.
He acted without thinking, and he became famous without really knowing what he was doing.
He wore luxurious clothes, and drank the best there was to offer.
He knew how to pick out the best tailor made suites.
If his fish wasn't cooked to perfection he would instantly throw it in the face of the cook.
He not only knew how to enjoy life, he was doing extremely well.
He should have been satisfied.
But for some reason, he suddenly wasn't happy anymore, and his agonizing thoughts were even worse than before.
He used to sleep peacefully as soon as his head touched the pillow, but then he would often lay awake sleeplessly.
When he lay there sleepless, he would ask himself: "Should I be doing all the things that I am doing?"
"Are these people truly my friends?"
"Should people be thinking about anything else other than how to enjoy life?"
He suddenly missed home, and started to think about his mother and father.
The best cook in the world, couldn't compete with the chicken noodle soup that his mom used to cook for him.
All of the flattering words gradually became less appealing than his father's lecturing.
Even the sweet whisperings of the Red Women started to lose their appeal.
None of these things were important.
What mattered most was that he suddenly wanted to be a person of integrity.
He just wanted to be someone who slept peacefully at night.
He started preparations to move on, to leave these kind of friends behind.
He obviously knew that they would never let him go.
First, because they needed him.
Second, because he knew all of their secrets.
Fortunately, he had never talked about his mom and dad in front of them, or told them where he was from.
He didn't know if he was scared of losing his parents, or worried that his parents wouldn't want anything to do with him anymore. His parents were just regular people.
His friends never asked about his family, they only asked, "How did you learn martial arts so well?"
He studied martial arts as a child, a strange old man would wait for him every day in the dark forest, and forced him to practice intensely.
He never discovered who his master was, and he had no idea if the kung fu he practiced was any good.
He didn't know until the first time he got into a fight.
This fortuitous encounter was his strange secret.
So he never shared it with anyone, because nobody would believe him anyway.
Sometimes, he himself found it hard to believe.