"Master, it is I." Feng came to the side of the river. This river was where his master would come to meditate from time to time. Before his master's cremation, the river seemed to be happier. Now there were no birds chirping in the air. There were no frogs croaking on their lily pads. Now there was only a steady gloom followed by a soft mist that floated from a nearby waterfall.
"I know you cannot hear me, but I have returned." Feng sighed in putrid regret. So much time had passed, but there were still some things left undone. He had faced the world's greatest fighters. He had stared into the eyes of demons and he had made them blink. He had battled beasts and behemoths, but he always emerged the victor. He had faced supernatural powers beyond human imagination and always triumphed. Now he stood in the memorial of a dead man and he felt regret.
"I have challenged the greatest fighters in the world and I am victorious. I have made the King, the world's greatest wrestler scream. I have crushed the undefeated warrior, Paul Pheonix with my bare hands. I have taken the scrolls of the Mishimas and I have attained absolute perfection. Now I find myself empty." Feng snorted angrily as he treaded into the calm waters of the pond.
"I am the greatest fighter in the world and what do I have. I have no family, no friends. I only have enemies. I wanted to be the best and now that I am, what do I do. I have broken innocent lives. I must sleep with no rest, for fear of assassins would kill in my sleep. I have broken every rule in this temple for my own benefit. I have toiled, since the day I was born. I wanted to be the greatest, since I was first a child watching an exhibition of Shaolin Monks. As a boy, my mother would tell me the legendary tales of martial artists." Feng sighed.
"The tales didn't tell me about the price I would have to pay for greatness. Not that it really matters. If given the same choices, I would have done exactly the same actions over again." Feng laughed as he knelt in the water and wiped his forehead with cool liquid. "Death is now my only gift."
"I now know what you meat master. I now know what the rules mean. Those rules that dictated our order. The rules that made this temple and our history. I rejected them all in the pursuit of power. I am no different than the communists that tried to destroy our order so many years ago. They tried to destroy our art, our way of life, and our religion. When China was in the grips of bloody turmoil and all other arts were demolished by the new order. When all other arts were brushed beneath the earth to make room for modern wushu. When it was deemed by the government, that religion in itself was poison. I am no different from those that tried to destroy our order."
Feng paced angrily. "I thought I was doing the art a benefit. To push it to its absolute limits and then make it even better, but then I learned. None of that was ever important. All the techniques and hard work will fail at times. An ordinary man can strike down the greatest of warriors, if he is given enough courage. I disgraced our art in the need for pain and violence."
"So go ahead and say it, damn you. Say that I was wrong and you were right. Say that I am a failure and a disgrace. Say that I am a traitor to all that our order has taught to the world. Say that I am not even a man. Berate me and punish me for my arrogance, but do not hide your tongue. Do not mock me with your silence, for I know you hear me. I feel you spirit and I know you watch." Feng ranted towards the river.
"You punish yourself Feng. You harm yourself. Do not blame me for your own feelings of inadequacies." A whirlwind flew through the river and collected the fog. The mist was cleared and the suns beam burned through the clouds. The light shined in Feng's eyes and he could once more feel the presence of his master.
"So you can hear me. Well say it then, say that you are right." Feng shook his hand at the wind. Months of frustration and anger were pent up. Finally his anger towards his master was released. The anger was not released in fists or kicks, but tears. Feng was crying and the tears touched the waters of the river.
"Feng, you have come a long way, but still you do not understand." The master's voice echoed through the winds.
"What then do I not understand? That I am a fool. That I am a disgrace. That I am an arrogant child that reached to high towards the sun on the back of wings made of wax." Feng cried out to his master. The wind mocked him and brushed passed his body. It tried to soothe him, but he rejected all of it. Feng was angry and he wanted to remain angry. He wanted his master's spirit to take revenge. He wanted to be punished for his crimes.
"All men rise and fall by their own choices. You let your desires control you and now you feel regret. Do not mock my death. You made a goal and accomplished it. Now you claim you do not enjoy the flavor of your own meal." The wind laughed. "You have always known what the right thing was."
"Tell me then." Feng shouted.
"You know it in your heart." The wind responded and for a few moments Feng was perplexed, but then it donned on him. He walked deeper into the stream. He let the currents of water and time flow through him. Deeper and deeper he walked into the water. His body and soul were cleansed bit by bit. All of it now meant so little. He saw his deeds and knew all that he would have to suffer for. He took the pain and released it. A thousand suns exploded in his mind, yet he did not care. Feng released his emotions into nature and it welcomed him as a mother receives the child once more. He emerged from the depths and the stream had changed. The frogs croaked once more. The birds chirped once more. The wind was gone and the mist had returned. Feng walked out of the river and he would leave. His business was done and he would never return again.