Before Shifu breathed his last, he pointed at Bu Yu who was facing him and bitterly uttered two words, "Evil disciple!" Fresh blood gushed from his mouth and flowed like a river onto my hands that were holding him tightly.
Bu Yu, expressionless, stood in front of us with only cold indifference in her eyes.
Shifu's room was in a complete mess with bright red blood stains everywhere. Overturned medicine cups spilled viscous dark red liquid, and several fist-sized black porcelain jars lay scattered in the corner. There was a damaged hidden compartment on the wall, with one of the porcelain jars cracked open, spilling a pile of dark green ash.
Apart from this, there lay beside the three of us a youngster covered in blood, his life hanging in the balance - he was our youngest junior brother, a snow leopard. Though he joined the sect late, he had excellent aptitude and was greatly treasured by our shifu.
I saw a large hole in Shifu's chest, with the edges charred black, and a thin layer of crimson mist floated over his face, like it was covered in a strange petal. Bu Yu's right sleeve was empty, and her once slender and fair right arm was nowhere to be seen.
As Shifu departed this world, it felt as if my heart, too, had ceased its beating.
I suddenly felt how foolish it was to leave the cave and sneak back. If it weren't for that damn sense of unease and concern, I wouldn't have come back. If I hadn't come back, I wouldn't have witnessed this scene, and if I hadn't seen... if I hadn't seen... could I have pretended to know nothing with peace of mind?
"Did you do it?" I slowly lay down Shifu's body, watching as the benefactor who had saved me, nurtured me, and taught me, the one I had sworn to protect with my life, gradually lost his human form and transformed into a sleek black scorpion.
Bu Yu stiffly twitched the corners of her mouth and said with a smile, "Yes. I asked him to teach me more powerful spells as I am the best candidate to be the mountain god. But he refused."
"Those missing senior disciples..." I stood up, unusually calm, "is it your doing?"
"I want their inner cores, so I can become stronger faster." She kept looking out the window as she spoke, "I loathe the days when people threw stones at me. I don't want to be an ominous flower demon; I want to be a revered god!"
"You promised me not to lie, didn't you?" I waited for the last answer I wanted.
"Yes," she nodded.
I raised my head and spit out the unformed inner core, transforming it into a thin sword. Sharp silver light flashed between us, cutting something in an instant. Her truth had subjected me to the greatest deception of my life.
"Want to avenge the old guy?" She sneered sarcastically, "Come find me after refining your inner core." My sword struck empty air. Her agility and concealment skills surpassed any fellow disciple. Anger and sorrow raged within me.
I buried Shifu with my own hands. After ensuring the unconscious snow leopard junior brother was settled, I took one last look at this once lively but now desolate "home" and decisively returned to the cave.
My body was stronger than ever before.
My mind was more focused than ever.
My heart was clearer than ever about what needed to be done.
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