Gu Yuze heard the door lock, and then the girl proceeded to burn a soundproofing talisman.
He raised an eyebrow and then smiled. "The two of you, are you trying to...bully me?"
The girl's eyes were cold as she sneered at him, "I warned you, didn't I? Now, because of you, Brother Wang has a missing chores indictment on his records."
Her words seemed to have infuriated Wang Ming even more.
"Gu Yuze, you never learn, do you?" It was accompanied by the sharp crack of knuckles against his jaw. The force was so great that his head snapped to the side painfully.
"Get the healing pill." Wang Ming said as he moved closer and flexed his wrist, sharp eyes trained on Gu Yuze.
Blood. He actually tasted blood.
The second punch was even more brutal, and the third one made him wheeze, yet even before the damage was done, he could feel the spiritual energy flowing through his body, healing him.
He burst out laughing; they would beat him up and then heal him up. He would have no evidence, no one to report to, and nobody that would believe him.
For how long?
Gu Yuze lifted his hand and hurled the two of them backwards. They struck the wall before slumping on the ground.
He enjoyed the shock that appeared in Wang Ming's eyes. Unlike the girl who had hit her head against the wall, Wang Ming was more cautious.
The shock in his eyes had given way to more than anger—rage. He tried to stand up.
"Gu Yuze!" This was the first time in two years Gu Yuze had retaliated against him. How dare he?
Gu Yuze's hands moved quickly as he performed seals and simultaneously chanted.
Shadow of Mara, shattered and bound,
By Avalokitesh's vow, be crowned.
No step shall fall, no breath be drawn,
Till Samsara breaks and night meets dawn'
Wang Ming found that he could not move; he could not even speak. It was as if an invisible force had bound his limbs and his mouth.
He looked at the pale and slender man, whom he knew better than most, the coward who had always closed his eyes hoping for him to leave, and Wang Ming wanted to shake his head. This was not Gu Yuze; this cannot be Gu Yuze.
"This is what happened. You forced yourself into my room, put on a sound barrier." Gu Yuze did not have a bowl, so he just took a cup and the knife. "You proceeded to beat me up. Three punches. I must have gotten angry, so I instinctively flung you backwards. After all, my dantian is not stabilized, and I am learning to control my spiritual energy afresh. So, you left."
**
"Senior Brother Wang! What happened?" Xiao Hei rubbed her head. She could still feel a throbbing pain, and she recited a quick chant to heal it.
The two of them were in front of their hostel, and she could not quite remember how they had gotten here.
Wang Ming gritted his teeth, his nostrils flaring. "That bitch must have succeeded in recultivating another technique. He actually dared to fight back." He did not care if it was instinctive self-defense. For two years, he had beaten that little waste, even in his dreams. Gu Yuze should never raise his hands against him.
And those eyes, those amused eyes. His mind felt foggy, like he was missing something, but he was too angry to care.
How would he explain it to the senior now? Wang Ming shivered a bit.
Two years ago, Wang Ming had been on the edge of dropping out. He had been in the sect for ten years, and yet his cultivation remained stagnant, moving even slower than a tortoise.
Younger children joined, and in no time, he was calling them senior brother., He could not bear it, and anytime he tried to voice any discontent, he heard the same thing.
As a Taoist priest, you should be patient. Greed and haste would not help you.
He wanted to scream at those younger children with their wealthy parents and powerful cultivation methods. How can they not surpass him?
Just before he was about to give it all up, Wang Ming met him. Saying meeting him was wrong, Wang Ming had picked up the phone.
The voice was cultured and elegant with a slow drawl. Wang Ming had no doubt he was one of the children he was always complaining about. The man just had one request: 'Put Gu Yuze in his place.'
And Wang Ming's dreams had all come true. He had wonderful spiritual arts and powerful artifacts; his cultivation had grown immensely, his rank had improved immensely, and he was addressed as Senior Brother Wang by other novices.
The only thing he had to do was see those bright grey eyes dim until they had no life within. It had even gotten boring; he had suggested so many times to the senior that he could do away with Gu Yuze, but the senior had just laughed and asked him not to touch him.
'Isn't living like he is dead more interesting?'
Wang Ming did not quite care; the other did all his chores for an amount that was mud to a Taoist priest. It was not his concern who Gu Yuze had offended.
Except now, it looks like he might offend the same person. At the thought of that laughter, he shook his head. He could not inform the other party.
"I would take care of it. By next week, he will be begging to do the chores. You, just do them both for now." He had not touched any chores for over two years; Wang Ming did not plan to start now.
The girl pursed her lips in anger, but seeing the expression on Wang Ming's face, she nodded.
The two of them chatted for a while before they both headed their separate ways. With his points, Wang Ming had moved from the Communal Dorm to the Clover Dorm.
The spiritual energy was more concentrated, and the environment was quiet and beautiful. It was what he deserved.
He took his bath, opened the fridge, and microwaved his dinner. After eating, he sat down cross-legged on his bed to cultivate.
"Get up, you f*ck." Wang Ming blinked and jerked his head up. It was his voice. He looked around; he wasn't in his room anymore but was lying on a cold floor of a stone room. He tried to move, but his legs were chained to the floor.
"I am talking to you, you little sh*t!" The fist came out of nowhere and clocked him in the head; his head bounced off the stones, and Wang Ming could feel the blood.
Pain. He was in so much pain. Where...where was he?
Suddenly his head was slammed into the stone wall. Wang Ming gasped, choking on the blood in his mouth. He could feel someone's spiritual energy forcing their way into his head, and he screamed in pain.
It was as if they were ripping his head apart.
"How dare you! How dare you think for one second you can escape this? You think you can kill yourself to get away from me. I would find you. I'll find you no matter where you go."
It was his voice, and the words seemed so familiar, but Wang Ming was in so much pain to begin to decipher them.
He pleaded, he begged, but all he got was the cruel laughter of his voice.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He could not run away. He was beaten to the inch of his life, healed, and the cycle continued over and over again.
"Junior Brother Wang. Wang Ming!" Someone shook him, and Wang Ming blinked to see Sister Meng, the beautiful senior sister next door, peering at him; two men were standing next to her.
"Are you alright? Did something go wrong while you were cultivating?"
"No." Wang Ming shouted, his voice hoarse with terror, "No, he is going to find me! He is here... "He—"the more he spoke, the more panic electrocuted every part of him. His voice, it sounded like that man's voice. The man who had caused him so much pain.
He raised his hand to his mouth as he looked around desperately to find somewhere to hide. He was going to find him.
"Call Elder Chu. I think it is an inner demon."