Chapter 1

I dodged a roundhouse kick aiming towards my head. My right hand automatically jabbed my opponent's visible pressure point. His knee caught up to my face before the floor made contact. I flipped back on defense position. My rival threw punches on any weak spots he could find on me. I blocked back.

"You cower like a snake," he said.

His waist was exposed. I took my chance as I ducked and used a straight hand. I placed my foot behind his heel as I continued to hit him. He tripped and looked dumbstruck. He jumped back up again and gave me an even more determined look while he sent kicks and hard throws at me. I had my forearms portrayed as blockage from his striking punches.

He caught my foot as I struggled to kick his damn smirking face. I did a turnover and painfully landed on my side. I swallowed my urges to cry out and grasped my opponent's foot. I dragged him down to the floor before he hand-chopped the place where my arm was supposed to be. My knees pinned his legs as my arms did the job of paralyzing him by hitting his pressure points.

I lay back next to my master, heavily breathing from the not-so-overwhelming exhaustion. My chest quickly returned to its slow pace as I saw my master facing me with patience.

I carried him to the meditation room and carefully positioned him in his meditating stance. I swiftly took a shower and went to the kitchen to cook a special dinner for him; not once today he brutally trained me to become a skilled fighter.

A few hours later, my master recovered from the paralyzed state. I heard his private bathroom's shower turned on, knowing he will be on his way in five or ten minutes.

He came out with his signature gray clothing and white pants, the ones that the monks of our temples wore. He sat on the floor across the part of the table where I was. His almond eyes stared down at his favorite dishes; his mouth was smiling at me. I meekly grinned back. My master rarely smiled at his students, especially me. My guess was that he really loves food that was meant for him only.

We ate in silence – a silence filled with unquestionable joy and the warming of my heart. My master was like an ancient gem-filled rock. He aged to almost the end of his life, was very hard to get through, but inside was brimmed to an extension of knowledge and treasure only a certain student would understand.

My master was a father to me. He taught and trusted me from the very beginning I was at his doorstep. No one knew who brought a female infant to a peaceful temple on a very stormy weather high up in the mountains, descriptively hanging by the temple's most valued monk's door. What everyone in the temple wondered – of course, they were not surprised I had the same facial features as they have – but of my eye color. My irises were pearly white, nearly as white as my clean teeth. People often thought I was blind, judging by my eyes, but I have normal eyesight. Everybody accepted this, and my master took me in as his own student.

After dinner and cleaning the bowls, the master signaled me to converse across the same table. My legs were crossed as I patiently waited for his answer.

"You did well." He said it as a fact.

"Thank you." A heavy Chinese accent lingered on these words. In the temple, it was critical to talk in its home language.

The conversation paused.

"You know you will be leaving your home."

"Yes, Master." I felt grim.

"It is your duty to head to your task."

"I know, Master."

The conversation paused again. I was still deciding whether to ask him or not.

"Master?"

"Yes, Mai Wan Qi?"

"Do you love me as you would to your very own daughter?" Shock came over me as I realized I spoke the longest question of my life.

"… I love you very much, Wan Qi." My master whispered. I felt that he was on the verge of breaking out, but with great strength, he held it back.

"Thank you, Master, for everything you have done for me."

"You are welcome."

I made a gesture that everyone in the temple rarely did. I have seen people at the base of the mountains did this whenever one of the beloved ones journey away. I placed myself next to him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. I hugged him. It felt strange for I was hugging my very strict master.

Stiffness ran through his body and relaxed as his arms were around me. Seconds later, we pulled apart.

"You will leave tonight out of China. A helicopter will pick you up at 'Inspiration Point' when the moon is high. Make sure you have any of your belongings with you. Do not question anyone once you step foot on the helicopter. You will know my friend once you fight him." I memorized all this and left the room without saying a word.

I started to pack my objects in my room. I remembered my time in this temple. Just like it called out, the place was unnervingly peaceful. I breathed in deeply and exhaled noiselessly. I knew it would be my last time living here as a monk's pupil and that I would turn into what my employer wishes me to be.

My master was not there in his or any of the rooms. The moon was nearly high in the sky. I exited the temple and didn't look back.

"Inspiration Point" was where the one monk, who made the temple where I now used to live, found enlightenment. Everyone from the temple did meditation here to also reach enlightenment. I hiked up this damned silent cliff and saw red and white light coming from the sky. Minutes later, it happened to be the helicopter Master was talking about.

The cliff was now gusting with winds and filled with machinery noises. The helicopter landed with a big scraping noise on the ground. Maybe that's how one lands this transportation device.

One man covered in dark blue or black has heavy-looking armor and a machine gun held in his arm. We both jogged to the inside of the helicopter. To my surprise, the size was normal – not too big and not too small. I sat in one of the many available seats in the copter. There were three others in here, all wearing the same thing the first one had. Then, I noticed something. There were red cobras shown on each side of the arm. It must mean a great deal.

But, I let it slip my mind for my body needs rest.