Zen rushed into the medic area with Cong in his arms and Fuu following close behind. He looked around until he saw a familiar face, sitting next to an empty bed, focussing more on the scroll she was reading then anyone in the room.

Zen went to her and placed Cong on the bed next to her.

“Miss Hong, please help my cousin.” Zen said

She looked up from her scroll with a frown and squinted her eyes at the masked boy. “Wang Zen? What’s with the mask?”

“Please, help him!” Zen said, gesturing to Jao Cong.

She looked at Jao Cong. She tore off his shirt and studied his figure. Raising his arms, she popped his shoulder joints back in place. Then she applied healing energy to the boy’s face.

“He should be okay.” Hong said before looking at Zen. “This is quite the nasty head injury.”

“Yes,” Fuu said, glaring at Zen. “This is your fault!”

“My fault?”

“Yes, if you had not filled my brother’s head with your stupid ideas…”

“What stupid ideas?”

“Ideas that he needs to fight!”

“Uhm… guys,” Hong said.

“I didn’t give him any ideas!” Zen said. “I didn’t tell him he needs to fight, he knew he needed to.”

“He doesn’t need to!” she spat.

“Guys, Zen and Zen’s girlfriend.” Hong spoke a little louder.

“She is not my girlfriend!” Zen said. “She is my annoying cousin! And let me tell you something, Jao Fuu, Cong’er is learning to be a Cultivator and a Martial Artist. He needs to learn to fight, to protect himself.”

“No! I will be there to protect him!”

“You won’t always be there!”

“Guys!”

“Yes, I will! Because I would never put him in a situation where I can’t protect him like you have now!” she said. “Stay out of my brother’s life and mines!”

“Psht, I don’t want to be in your life! Your stupid and stuck up and…!”

“Well at least I’m not ugly!”

“GUYS!”

The two cousins stopped glaring at each other and looked at Hong Lu.

“This is an infirmary. If you two are having a family spat, I suggest you do it elsewhere.”

“No need,” Fuu said, turning her back on him. “He can go elsewhere, I’m staying with my brother.”

Zen looked down. “Tell me when he is okay.” He said his voice barely a whisper.

He turned on his heels and left.

Zen waited in the fighting area for his next match. He sat alone at a bench with Shibi next to him.

“Cong Cousin okay?”

“Not now but you and I know that Miss Hong is good. She’s patched both of us up plenty of times it won’t be any different with Cong’re.” Zen assured Shibi.

“Him!” Shibi said.

Zen looked towards the person Shibi was pointing to. Lang was seated at a table, eating large drumsticks.

Zen clenched his fists and walked up to him.

“You!”

Lang looked up at him. “You must be Wang Zen. I’ve always wanted to meet you instead of… you know, looking at you from afar.”

“You hurt my cousin,” Zen clenched his teeth.

Shibi climbed on his shoulder and glared at Lang.

Lang looked at the Scorch Ape for a moment before returning his sights to Zen.

“Your cousin? Oh, that weak little noble brat. My condolences for being related to him.”

“What?”

Lang took another bite of his drumstick.

“But your relation to him is not that strong. No. You are not like those filthy nobles.”

Zen clenched his fist, getting ready to throw a punch.

“No, you are more like your father.”

Zen stopped in his tracks when Lang mentioned his father. “What do you know about my father?”

“Wang Ton.” He said. “He was a noble but only by name, name only. Really he was a Commoner, like you. Like me.”

“You don’t know nothing about my father or my family.”

“I know enough.” He said. “I live in the next town over to where you’re from. You’re father’s name is famous and what he did for the Commoners during the Civil War. I heard about how they punished your family for his involvement and I know why you wear that mask. You are honouring him.”

Zen kept quiet, which seems to be all the confirmation Lang needed.

“I hate what these nobles do to us.” Lang continued. “That’s why I’m going to humiliate all of them in this tournament. I hate the nobles and I hate any sell out Commoner who stands with them, like Chen Jian.”

I know you want to take him down too, even more than I do. See, you should forget about your scum cousin and we should support each other cause our goals are the same. We are the same.”

Zen opened his mouth to say something but…

“Wang Zen, prepare for your next fight!” An announcer said.

“Good luck,” Lang smiled at Zen. “Humiliate these noble scum!”

Zen walked away and prepared for his match, against a noble boy.

“Good luck Zen,” Shibi said.

Zen nodded his thanks and smiled at the ape before it left his shoulder. His mind was still lingering on what Lang had said to him. Were they both really the same?

Zen waited for his opponent to show up but no one did. The referee gave his opponent 10 minutes but still, he did not show up, so Zen was declared the winner by default. Zen understood why. Some opponents would rather not show up then to declare defeat.

So far, all of Zen’s opponents were so overwhelmed by the power they felt from him that they forfeited before the match began. And so, he was moving onto the next stage.

Zen left the ring and he could see Lang in the distance, clapping his hands in congratulations.