"Strongest people?" Her soft silvery voice echoed in his mind. "Do you think strongest people are those who won a battle?"
Without thinking, he replied, "Aren't they the strongest ones? After all, they won the battles that make them the heroes."
She sniggered before her face turned back to its original tranquility. "Good Smartian, the people who won the battles are not the strongest ones. They are the broken ones. Because you can't even fathom what they lost in order to win that battle."
"What did they lose?" He questioned with a curious look.
"They lost a part of them... Some even lost their souls..." The reply took him by surprise as his raven black eyes stared at her face covered in bandages. "Battles don't just leave scars, each scar came with the price of one's soul."
Taking a while to get back his composure, Xiao Zhi Ren inquired, "Then who are the strongest people?"
Her thin and slightly chapped lips curled into a mocking smile as she said, "The strongest amongst us are those who had learned to cry behind closed doors while they smile brightly before the world making one envy of them."
"Why?" He asked again.
"Because those are the real heroes. They are constantly fighting a battle within that nobody knows about and yet they have the courage to stand tall with a smile." Taking a brief pause she said in a hushed tone, "They are physically, mentality and emotionally drained ones. Tired of life yet striving to survive."
As the cold wind brushed past his face, Xiao Zhi Ren's reverie was broken. He wrapped his windbreaker tightly, keeping his eyes on the face that suddenly reminded him of 'her' words that were buried somewhere in his memory.
Perhaps Xiao Zhi Ren had seen Ru's cheery and rebellious side so much that for a moment, it slipped his mind that the green-eyed 'man' was actually all alone. The twinkling green eyes that always had a mischievous glint in them looked melancholic and anguished.
Today, he finally understood 'her' definition of strongest people since it was his first time seeing someone like Ru. The idea of seeing the young 'man' crying never crossed his mind since Xiao Zhi Ren believed that Ru wasn't one of those people who would cry; not even behind closed doors. But her current grief-stricken state made him feel uneasy.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Zhi Ren walked up to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder from behind. Instinctively, Ru's fighting instincts kicked in as she held his wrist and elbowed him in the guts before pulling him towards herself. Understanding that she was planning on flipping him over to knock the wind out of him, Xiao Zhi Ren's agile body moved on its own accord.
He rolled over her hip a bit trying to break free from her but Ru didn't give him a chance as her other hand gripped his collar and flipped him over knocking him straight to the ground.
"Ommff!" Xiao Zhi Ren felt his back making contact with the ground. The only good thing was that they were standing on a grassy field. If it was hard ground, Xiao Zhi Ren knew he would have been knocked out in a second.
Seeing that the person was Xiao Zhi Ren, Ru pressed her lips together before leaving his wrist and lifting her foot from his chest.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Xiao Zhi Ren screamed at her hatefully.
"Who told you to appear so sneakily?" Ru retorted matter-of-factly as if it was entirely his fault for being sneaky. Obviously, she wouldn't accept that she was in a daze and didn't bother to check who was behind her before attacking.
"Now, would you help me up or not?" Xiao Zhi Ren was rolling on the ground in pain and Ru had to offer her hand to pull him up. "You didn't even give me a chance to break out of your grip." He grumbled indignantly.
"If you could break free from this young master's deadlocks then wouldn't it mean that this young master had wasted his entire life uselessly?" She wasn't wrong after all she spent decades training in all kinds of martial arts. If one could even break free from her then she should be the one called incompetent one.
It was a good thing that Xiao Zhi Ren managed to timely straighten his posture otherwise, the damage would have been worse. He stretched his body easing his back which had been rubbed against the ground.
Although Ru felt guilty for hurting him unnecessarily, she didn't say anything about it. She stood there watching him grumbling to himself.
"Are you here to see Abbott Wang Xiu Ying again?" Hearing Ru's voice, Xiao Zhi Ren stopped his movements and stared at her.
They were currently in the depth of the woods. Right before them lied the secluded cabin where Abbott Wang Xiu Ying was said to be in seclusion.
"Why are you asking? We are not friends as you said so yourself." Ru raised her brow as she was amused to see him being petty over such a thing.
"But we are neighbors." Ru retorted matter-of-factly.
"Hmph!" Xiao Zhi Ren harrumphed and turned his back towards her. "Even if I am here to meet Abbott Wang Xiu Ying, why do you care?"
"I was curious to know what a person like you have to do with him?" Ru paced up to his side and whispered, "Are you here to ask him about your fortune?"
Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at her words and said, "What if I am here for my fortune?"
"Aigoo! Zhi, why take such a long trip to Jingshen? You could have just asked me."
He eyed her skeptically as he pointed at her asking, "You have the knowledge of divination?"
"Nope!" Ru shook her head in negation. "But I have some experience in facial fortune telling."
"Oh, really? Why don't you read my physiognomy?" Obviously, Xiao Zhi Ren was being sarcastic. He didn't believe a word that she had just said.
But Ru didn't take it to heart as she lifted her hand to lift his chin as if really trying to read his fortune. "You have such bright and vivid eyes that it's obvious at one glance how intelligent you are." Xiao Zhi Ren listened to her amusingly as she continued, "Oh... Look at your hairline... Tsk. Tsk. You're really picky about socializing." Ru gave him a disapproving look.
"The shape of your eyebrows is a clear indication that you have an exceptional temper and passion. Aye! You're really passionate about love as well." Ru gave him a crafty smile but Xiao Zhi Ren couldn't find the twinkle in her eyes even now.
"How can you tell I'm passionate about love?"
"Because of your lips. From the shape of your lips, it's easy to discern everything about your sensuality." Xiao Zhi Ren gaped at her in disbelief and knocked on her head.
"Stop messing around." Xiao Zhi Ren didn't believe a word that she had said since everything she said was something she could tell by just knowing him for a while except for the love part.
"See... This is your problem. You don't even trust me. And if we don't even have trust how can we be friends." Ru used his words against him at the perfect time making Xiao Zhi Ren glare at her.
"Rong, don't try to act smart." Xiao Zhi Ren warned her sternly.
"But I'm not trying to act smart..." Ru answered innocently. "How can I?" She gave a cheeky smile as she winked and added, "When I already am smart why would I try to act like one?" She wiggled her brows at him playfully.
Their bickering had made both of them forget where they were or why they were here. They were lost in trying to get the upper hand with each other and didn't even notice that a pair of vivid and adept eyes had been following their movements from the beginning. The poised and the refined old man seemed serene until his eyes fell on Ru's face. His eyes wavered.
"You know you're wasting your time by coming here, Zhi. Abbott Wang doesn't see anyone when he is in seclusion." Ru tried to dampen his spirits since no matter what she did Xiao Zhi Ren wasn't backing off. It was like he was hell-bent on defeating her.
"HA! Aren't you here trying your luck as well?" Xiao Zhi Ren argued haughtily completely unlike his nature.
"No, I'm not!" 'I'll be glad only seeing him from afar.' She definitely couldn't tell him her real intention. "I just lost my way and ended up here." She made the excuse that she could think of at that moment.
"Whatever!" Xiao Zhi Ren didn't want to pry since he knew Ru wasn't going to disclose anything to him. "Anyways, I'm here to see the Abbott and I will meet him." His conviction surprised Ru.
"He won't see you," she couldn't help but comment.
Xiao Zhi Ren abruptly turned towards her and asked, "What if he did meet me?" Ru frowned, seeing the look of resolution in his eyes. "Do you want to make a bet?"
Ru thought for a while and shrugged her shoulders giving her consent. "What's on stake?"
"Whoever loses will have to grant a wish to the other one." Xiao Zhi Ren answered straightforwardly.
"Deal!" Ru agreed without thinking since she really thought she'd be the winner. "But I already owe you a wish from the time you saved me. Can't you just use that one? Why are you making new bets?"
"I want to keep that one as my insurance." Xiao Zhi Ren answered boldly.
On the side, the elderly man was amused by their bet as he smiled to himself. He saw Xiao Zhi Ren moving towards the cabin and passing something to his attendant.
"Great Abbott, that young man asked me to give you this emblem." The elderly man took the emblem from his attendant's hand and his eyes widened and then a sly smile emerged on his lips. "Take him inside. I'll be right there with him." The attendant bowed and left to carry out his orders.
When the attendant showed Xiao Zhi Ren the way inside, he didn't forget to turn and pass a victorious look to Ru leaving her baffled with her mouth agape.
As Xiao Zhi Ren vanished inside the bamboo cabin, Ru heard an elderly but familiar voice from behind, "I never thought there would come a day when I'd be able to see our young master Ru lose a bet."
Ru abruptly whipped around and came face to face with the face which she was familiar with. The face she came to see. "Grandmaster..." She whispered softly without realizing it.