Yu Lin cocked her head as she watch the male student look at her with shocked eyes.

The man mumbled something however Yu Lin did not hear him as Nie Fu’s cries were too loud. She ignored the man as she walked closer to Nie Fu. Nie Fu tried to move back but he was too hurt to be able to.

“Looks like I won.” she said as she dangled the scarf in front of her. Nie Fu glared up at her as he bared his teeth. Yu Lin walked closer to him but was stopped by the male student. The male student held out his arm.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m going to help his arm, or are you going to instead?” Yu Lin asked back. The student narrowed his eyes at her, before looking behind her towards another student.

“Hey you, what happened here?” he asked.

“Huh, me?” a female voice called out. “Uh, well… Nie Fu and this boy made a deal which led to the battle. Nie Fu rushed towards the boy first. Nie Fu tried to punch him but he just blocked Nie Fu’s punch with his palm… which made Nie Fu’s hand like that. After that he grabbed Nie Fu’s scarf then he kicked Nie Fu back… or was it the other way around? I don’t really know, you see everything went by so fast… uh… hmm?”

“That’s alright. Thank you.” the male student said. The student looked at her with conflicted eyes before he lowered his arm.

“Let me escort you out.” he said before quickly turning around. “Please take care of Nie Fu, Yang Yang.” the student said as he began to lead the way. Yu Lin just shrugged her shoulder sbefore following behind him.

“Hey! Return my scarf!” Nie Fu yelled after her. She turned around and promptly stopped.

“Tomorrow at four, we are going to town. Come fetch your scarf then, my obedient giant.” Yu Lin said as before turning around and following the student.

“Hey! You! Aahhhh!” Nie Fu screamed from behind her but she just continued walking. They left the courtyard and were in the hallway leading to the gate when the student stopped in front of Yu Lin. Yu Lin braked, being careful not to bump into him. He turned around and looked Yu Lin in the eyes. Yu Lin looked up at his face as he was a head taller than her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Why are you here?” the student asked as his eyes trembled.

“What do you mean?”

“What are you doing here Yu Lin?! Why are you in this Medicinal Studies?!” the student raised his voice. Yu Lin’s eyes grew dark.

“Excuse me Senior, but I believe this is our first time meeting. I do-”

“It’s me! Po Leng Zhuang! I’m Po Leng Zhuang!” Leng Zhuang grabbed the side of Yu Lin’s upper arm. Yu Lin froze, his face finally making sense in her head. The man who was in front of her looked so different from the past. In the past he was chubby, his face round but now he was skinnier, his face nicely sculpted. His eyes had matured and he was now taller than her.

Yu Lin balled her fist to keep them from trembling as she pushed Leng Zhuang’s arms off of her. She looked away from him and backed up a step.

“I’m sorry but I think that you have mistaken me for someone else. I can find my own way back now, thank you.” Yu Lin gave him a quick bow and started to walk away. She felt fingers wrap around her arm before she could get any further.

“What about He Lan?” his voice rang throughout her mind and memories rushed back. She turned her head to stare into Leng Zhuang’s worried eyes. She swallowed hard before glaring at him.

“Who is that?” her voice was unbearingly cold. “Do we know each other Senior?”

“Yu Lin!”

“Stop,” Yu Lin turned back, averting her eyes from Leng Zhuang, “whatever happened in the past… we are not the same person or creature anymore.” Yu Lin felt the grip on her arm go weak before the hand slid down. She continued walking.

Yu Lin saw Kumamono and the rest but ignored them as she stormed to her room. She heard Kumamono yelling things after her and asking questions but she didn’t answer. When she reached her room, she slammed her doors closed and locked it from the inside.

Her back rested against the door before she slowly slid down onto the ground. She buried her head into her knees and hugged herself. She didn’t want the memories to resurface. They made her weak, made her heart go soft again. No tears trail down her face, but her eyes became so empty they were almost as hollow as the state of her heart.

-

Leng Zhuang didn’t know what to do as he stood by the gates of the Martial Arts major. He stared blankly onto the ground as if time had just stopped for him.

“Leng Zhuang!” he heard a voice call out. He looked up to see Mei Rong with her red scarf tied around the top of his arm, smiling as she waved at him. He smiled and waved back, almost forgetting about Yu Lin until he saw He Lan surface behind Mei Rong. His hand slowly went down and so did the ends of his lips.

“What’s wrong?” Mei Rong asked as she grabbed onto his arm. He looked up, past Mei Rong and onto He Lan’s face. He Lan raised an eyebrow as he smiled at him. Leng Zhuang bit onto his lip before putting on a small smile. He eyes slowly trailed down, past the orange scarf that was tied around He Lan’s heck, until they reached the dirt ground.

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong at all.” he lied. He watch the two look at him worried before he felt He Lan’s hand on his shoulder.

“If you say so.” He Lan’s low voice pierced the deepest part of his conscience, but he swallowed his guilt down as he nodded his head.

“Where are you juniors going?” a voice called out. Leng Zhuang looked behind He Lan to see a senior student approaching them with a white scarf on. The three of them quickly bowed.

“Greetings Senior Jin Long.” the three said. The senior smiled at them.

“We are just going around town for a bit.” Leng Zhuang heard He Lan say. They stood back up to see him nodding his head, his bright blue eyes looked at them like an older brother would. He wrapped his around Leng Zhuang and He Lan’s shoulder as all four of them began walking towards the gate.

“Let me accompany you guys out to town too then.” he said as he patted the two on the shoulders. They all laughed as they walked out the gate. Before they got far, Leng Zhuang looked behind them. His eyes were conflicted but he could only breathe down his decision as he turned back around.

-

Yu Lin finished her bath as she stuffed the tub back into her endless bracelet. She was dressed in her bed robes, a simple white outfit when she heard a knock on her door.

“Yu Lin… it’s me, Kumamono.” Kumamono’s voice was muffled. Yu Lin threw on a colored robe over her bed robes as she opened the doors. She saw Kumamono standing there holding the cloth covered tray of sweet snacks. Yu Lin stared at her as she looked nervously around. Yu Lin pulled the tray away from her and set it on a dresser near her.

“What do you want?” Yu Lin crossed her arms.

“Can I come in?” Kumamono asked.

“No, talk from there.” Yu Lin sternly said. Kumamono let out a small sigh.

“Are you… alright?” she asked.

“I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then… what happened when you came back from the higher section? You loo-”

“Nothing happened. If you are just going to talk about this, then please leave.” Yu Lin began to close the door but Kumamono pushed on it.

“Wait!” she quickly said. Yu Lin paused as she saw Kumamono’s face flushed red. “If you… if you ever need someone to talk to, then we are always here. Me, Sanji, and Su Me, you can always talk to one of us.” Kumamono said. Her eyes glimmer with sincerity. Yu Lin had no reaction as she just nodded her head.

“I understand… thank you.” she said. Kumamono smiled and nodded her head.

“Of course! It’s what friends do for each other! Then, goodnight!” she said before bowing and then leaving. Yu Lin watched as she disappeared and heard her door close shut, before shutting the door.

Yu Lin threw the snacks onto the table. She didn’t feel like eating them that night as she headed straight to bed.

--

The next day after classes Yu Lin and the others stood waiting for Nie Fu. Yu Lin had originally wanted to go alone, but the others wanted to tag along so she just let them.

“You’re lying! How could a small boy like you manage to even hurt Senior Nie Fu?” Kumamono said. Yu Lin looked at her. Her complexion seemed to be darker than usual.

“Are you alright?” she asked. Kumamono’s eyes grew.

“What?”

“You look a bit sick. Are you going to be alright?” Yu Lin asked.

“Uh… oh. Yes. I’m just a bit tired.” Kumamono let out a small laugh.

“Don’t worry. I have yet to see her get sick.” Sanji remarked.

“Me too.” Su Me agreed. Yu Lin just nodded her head. At first the others doubted what she said however when Nie Fu showed up they just grew quiet. Nie Fu’s face was red as he narrowed his eyes at Yu Lin.

“Let’s go.” Yu Lin said as she stood up from the railing she was sitting on.

“No.” Nie Fu retaliated. “Now give me back my scarf before you get hurt Junior.” he hissed. Yu Lin cocked her head.

“This wasn’t the deal we made.” Yu Lin said.

“I don’t care about that deal.” Nie Fu huffed and puffed. Yu Lin cocked her head and let out a sigh.

“Is that so?” she asked, her eyes gave off a dark and threatening aura. Nie Fu swallowed hard as those eyes pressured him.

“Y-y-yes! Now gi-”

“Are you breaking the deal?” Yu Lin took a step towards Nie Fu.

As she did Nie Fu felt this overbearing pressure as he saw a dark aura around Yu Lin. The pressure weighed on him and he couldn’t speak as sweat beads rolled down the side of his face. He felt stuffy as the surroundings around them suddenly grew dark and the sky seemed cloudy as if it was going to thunder and rain. He fell to the ground and shut his eyes closed.

“No… I’m sorry. Forgive me… m-m-ma-master.” he covered his face.

“Alright. Shall we go then?” Nie Fu heard her say. He opened his eyes and everything seemed to go back to normal again, the sun was still shining brightly in the sky. He frowned, confused as to why he was so scared of Yu Lin earlier. He got up and was going to retaliate until he saw Yu Lin’s menacing eyes again and swallowed that retaliation down.

“Yes… let’s go.” he mumbled as he looked at the ground. He heard footsteps towards him before he felt someone grab his hand. He looked up and watched as Yu Lin placed the scarf in his hands. He swallowed. “Tha-tha-thank you.” he said.

“Let’s go.” Yu Lin said as she walked passed him, heading towards the circular platform. The rest of them followed behind her. On the way Yu Lin bit her lips. “Looks like the bath water will be short today.” she muttered under her breath.

Yu Lin and the rest stood on the platform. She watched as Nie Fu lifted his hand up to reveal a silver ring.

“Main gate.” he said. Yu Lin kept her eyes opened as she watched their surroundings changed to the one that she saw when she first came here. She looked around and the students walking around all had different uniforms on. She took note as she hid her face underneath the hood of her dark cloak.

“Wah! When did you put that on?!” Kumamono blurted out as they stepped off the platform.

“Just a bit ago, now keep your voice down.” Yu Lin said as they reached the main gate. The guards stared down at them. Nie Fu bowed and the rest of the them followed him.

“I am Su Nie Fu of Medicinal Studies. I would like to bring these four with me to town.” he said. The guard narrowed his eyes as he stared down at them. Yu Lin could feel Kumamono and her group freeze to avoid suspicions. She copied them. The guard stared at them for a long while before looking back at Nie Fu.

“Names.” he ordered.

“Uh, yes. Du Yu Lin and…” Nie Fu turned and looked behind them. The three understood him as they opened their mouths.

“Higurashi Kumamono.”

“Hyouki Sanji.”

“Chen Su Me.” Each one of them said their names. The guard examined each before nodding his head. The gate opened and they all walked out to the streets of Jongan.

-

They reached the medicine street and Yu Lin looked around at all the herbs. She picked some of the roots up and smelled them.

“I haven’t been out for almost three years now! Freedom!” Kumamono cheered as she danced around. Yu Lin stood up before continuing to walk around.

“But master,” Nie Fu’s suddenly said from behind them, “why are you in Medicinal Studies? Shouldn’t you be in the Martial Arts major? I fought with a lot of people before and I can tell… you are strong.” Nie Fu carefully asked. Yu Lin continued to rummage through the medicine.

-

“Why? Why Medicinal Studies?” Yu Lin asked as she sat across from Wang Pei. There was a Go board in between the two with a 19 by 19 grid. The battle they were having was intense, and the black and white stones and proved it. One wrong move, and the other would without a doubt have to surrender first.

“You’ve been with me for seven years. I know you are very skilled in medicine. I even brought you ‘that’ so that you can help others. Just go into Medicinal Studies quietly and stop bothering me about it.” Wang Pei set down a white stone. Yu Lin observed the situation. Her black cluster of stones in the corner was about to die unless she defended correctly.

“But why? I can go into another major. Are they even going to let me in?” Yu Lin placed a black stone down, touching Wang Pei’s white stone.

“Listen here,” Wang Pei made a face at her, “how can a physician recommend a student into a Martial Arts major if the physician doesn’t even know anything about Martial Arts? The only thing they will do is question my credibility before throwing your application away.” Wang Pei put another white stone down. Yu Lin’s mouth opened slightly as she looked at the board. She couldn’t save the corner anymore. If she did, Wang Pei would win because of the wall that he built. If she didn’t, Wang Pei would gain an immense amount of points. It was a lose-lose situation for her. She let out a small sigh as her head hung low.

“I resign.” she said. “Thank you for the game.” she bowed her head.

“I know you are impatient. It shows in your playing style, but you need to be patient in order to achieve your goals. Things will go according to plans, alright?” Wang Pei gave her a victorious smirk. Yu Lin looked at him, dejected, before nodding her head.

“I understand.” she quietly said.

-

“Master?” Nie Fu’s voice brought Yu Lin back to the present. Yu Lin stood up.

“I have my reasons, don’t you have yours as well?” Yu Lin said to him. Nie Fu eyes widened before he looked down and nodded.

“Yes…” his voice was barely audible. The other three didn’t know what to do as they felt a tense atmosphere between the two.

Just then, a bell rang out from the distance.

“Ah, that’s our cue!” Kumamono blurted out. Yu Lin looked at her face and saw her complexion was getting worse. “Let’s start heading back now.” Kumamono said. Yu Lin grabbed onto her arm.

“You… are you really alright?” Yu Lin asked. Kumamono smiled, yet her eyes showed discomfort.

“Of course, now let’s hurry up and get back.” she said. Her breathing was a bit heavier than before. Yu Lin looked at her suspiciously but let go.

“Alright. Let’s go back now.” Yu Lin said.

Yu Lin’s group was getting closer to the main street now but before they could turn onto it, Kumamono started to fall down.

“Miss Higurashi!” Yu Lin called out as she caught Kumamono. Kumamono had sweat trailing down her face as her mouth started to foam.

“Kuma!” Sanji and Su Me yelled in unison. Nie Fu bent down and took Kumamono’s pulse as he observed her face. His eyes widened.

“It’s poison!” he said.

“What? Poison?!” Sanji asked. Yu Lin pulled Kumamono’s head towards.

“Miss Higurashi? Miss Higurashi?” she asked as she lightly slapped Kumamono’s face. Kumamono slightly opened her eyes.

“It hurts.” Kumamono squeaked out.

“Did you eat anything weird yesterday?” Yu Lin asked.

“Huh?”

“Listen to me miss Higurashi. Did you eat anything weird yesterday?” Yu Lin said slower.

“Uh… no.. nothing…” Kumamono replied.

“Are you sure? Think carefully.”

“Um… ah… I had one of the snacks… your snacks… when I went… to visit you. I’m sorry… they smelled so good… I couldn’t stop… myself...” Kumamono replied. Yu Lin bit her lips.

“You idiot.” she muttered under her breath before looking up. “Sanji, go back and tell them we will be a bit late. It’s an emergency.” Yu Lin ordered as she put Kumamono on her back. “Nie Fu and Su Me, I will meet you guys at Gorqian Inn.” she said.

“What?” Sanji looked at her.

“No time to explain. Just listen to me.” Yu Lin said. She got up on her legs, and bent one of them. She pushed herself off the ground and leapt towards Gorqian Inn. The three of them looked at her surprised as she flew past buildings within seconds. Nie Fu swallowed hard.

“Didn’t you hear her? Hurry and do your jobs!” he said as he started to run towards Gorqian Inn. Su Mei followed him and Sanji quickly snapped out of it as he ran back towards the academy.

As Sanji ran back he passed another student with red scarlet hair, who looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

“He’s fast.” He Lan commented.

“Of course, he is from the panther tribe.” Jin Long said next to him.

“But, why is he in such a rush? We still have time left before the gates are locked.”

“Don’t mind his business too much He Lan, don’t you have your own business to worry about?” Jin Long smirked at He Lan, his dimples caving into his cheek.

“Ah… please go easy on me senior.” He Lan said. Jin Long let out a small laugh.

“We will see about that.” he said as he squeezed He Lan’s shoulder. He Lan let out a small laugh but as the image of the panther running past him could not get out of his head. ‘But why do I feel so worried?’ he thought as he stared at the big gate of Jongan Academy.