Part 2

“What you did was careless and impudent,” Zhi said, shaking her head.
Yuan could scarcely believe what he was hearing, “But sifu, I used everything you have taught me. I managed to defend myself! And the innocent man! I was hoping to make you see that I’m a good student. That I’ve been listening to what you have taught me.”
The mouse shot him a condescending sneer, “Clearly you have not been listening to a word all this time. You do not make me proud by using our art to push around those weaker than you.”
“But… Then what was I supposed to do? Let them ravage that poor man as they pleased? Or do nothing while they beat me up? What's the point of all this back-breaking labour you push me through if I'm not even allowed to use it?”
“What you are supposed to understand by practicing Go Chi Quan is that **** does not resolve anything, but leads only to harm. To everyone around you. And to yourself. The true struggle happens within.”
“Stop talking in riddles!" He snapped at her, "Stop treating me like I’m as good as those hooligans! I’m using what I learned to change things for the better! But no matter what I do, it’s never good enough for you!”

With eyes welled with tears, Yuan rushed upstairs to his quarters.
He slumped onto his bed. His sifu stepped in after him.
“You are wrong.” She said, equally calm as always but with a hint of sympathy, “What I have been trying to teach you, and what I hope you will some day understand, is that whether you succeed or fail is immaterial to who you are. The path of a Go Chi Quan is one of reflection and growth. Once inner harmony is achieved, it will not be necessary to choose outwards conflict. That is why we reject the closed fist.”
Yuan did not reply. He shifted himself away from Zhi in his bed.
Zhi sighed, “It appears that no matter what I say at this point, it will not resolve the situation. I will leave you the time to regain your composure. If you wish to join me again, I will be back in the garden.”

She left Yuan alone, and went to tend the garden.
One of the numerous elevated plateaus between the snaking roads offered a tranquil spot amidst the harmonious yet sterile temple complex, just as the temple offered a spot of purpose and dedication amidst the untamed mountain terrain. Her garden was her respite. A place where living things were free to grow and bloom, but according to order. There was a place for the mightiest tree and for the most delicate flower.
After climbing the stairs, Zhi faced the spot where she last left off. The ledge of the plateau was surrounded on all sides by a thin yet sturdy fence, on which a bush of roses clung at a spot. Zhi found herself separated from the roses by the coat of blazing fire constantly surrounding herself. After taking a deep breath and focusing inwards, the flames around her dimmed as they cooled down. Only then did she approach the bush to give it the tender attention it required.

Time flew by, and she immersed herself in the tranquil focus of her task. Yet no matter how focused, she could not ignore the surge of killing intent that hovered over her like a shadow. Zhi peered over her shoulder, ready to defend herself if need be, but did not expect to be dunked with water from a huge jar.
SPLASH!

Zhi rose to her feet, shuddering and with her mind swarming with confusion and fear. Her fiery aura had been extinguished, and so with it her spirit. Before her stood the perpetrators. They were the kakuen, staring down at her with predatory grins. Their leader stepped forward, the horse-sized clay pot hoisted over her shoulder.
"...My disciple." She uttered, "He told me about you. But he is not available now... Please come back at a later time..."
"Oh, it's not him we're here for!" The leader dropped the pot down, "It's you!"
"...I see." She said, "Forgive me, but I have a disciple already... And he turns out to be more than a handful... But I am humbled you thought of me."
"...Get her, girls."

The monkeys approached threateningly.
"...Wait." Zhi raised her hand. The kakuen stopped instinctively.
Zhi drew a line in the mud with her foot.
"...This is temple is dedicated to martial arts... If you wish to cultivate your conduct... Be my guest... But cross this line and I will be your opponent... You have been warned..."

Zhi stood before them, legs together with a single paw folded behind her back. The other was extended invitingly towards them.
"What're you standing around for!?" The leader barked, "Take her! Now!"
The monkeys rushed towards the mouse girl in an attempt to swarm her. The moment the kakuen at the front stepped over the line, Zhi's eyes started glowing with a hot amber. She shifted away from ther blows, landing poke after poke on their exposed skin. They could not hide their most **** spots, and her touch though gentle sent them into a laughing heap on the ground. Even when the fire, which was her strength and her spirit, had been extinguished, her skills remained as sharp as ever.
That's when the leader stepped in. Zhi didn't hesitate to finger her too, but before her hand could reach her it was caught in the monkey's tail. While her wrist was wound, the leader tossed the mouse girl down on her back and sat on her chest. That's when the rest of the kakuen grouped up on her, sitting on her arms and legs and keeping her from moving even an inch.
“Maybe this will teach your little boytoy disciple to play nice!” The leader laughed while she tied Zhi’s wrists behind her back and her ankles together. She picked the mouse girl up by her waist and hoisted her over her shoulder as they snuck away.

The last kakuen on their trail took out her bow to take aim at Yuan’s window…

THUNK!
The arrow embedded itself in the wall. Yuan rose up to take a look. A paper ark was rolled around the arrow. He picked it up and unfurled it.
He then read it:

Your precious sifu is in our hands,
If you ever want to see her again alive,
Come to Xiao Jie Bridge by sunrise tomorrow,
And come alone and without weapons,
Then we will see who makes a monkey out of who,

“...Sifu?” Yuan looked through the window. His sifu was nowhere to be seen. He ran downstairs, through the hallways and into the training area. Nowhere. She was really gone. They took her. Those rogues targeted his sifu to get back at him. And now she was going to pay for his own mistakes. It was just as sifu said, his arrogance had brought harm to the people in his life. And unless he could face what they had in store, he was going to face harm.
What a fool he had been.

All this time he had dedicated himself to the art, he never understood what it truly meant. It was more than a way of fighting. It was a way of life.
The sun had just set. The last rays of twilight lingered in the sky. He still had time before sunrise. He knew how he was supposed to spend them.
By training.

Just as the crimson sun rose over the rocky landscape beneath the twin cliffs connected by Xiao Jie Bridge, there he was. Zhu Yuanjun. The kakuen laughed as he approached.
“See? What a good little student you got! Thanks to him we get two toys instead of one.” The leader whispered to Zhi, who was still tied up.
“This is between you and I.” Yuan said, “She has nothing to do with this. Release sifu now.”
“Oh, we absolutely will. You can count on us," The leader answered with a smirk, "Still gonna need some assurance over here. As long as she’s at our mercy, you’re all ours.”

Yuan pulled at his collar, and let his shirt flutter to the ground. He stood before them, completely bare. He raised his hands over his head.
“Very well. Do with me what you want. I am ready for it.”
“Hehe… Well, you know…” The leader said as she crossed the bridge together with a small contingent of her gang, “There’s only one way to repay a good tickling.”
She smirked, raising her hands in a pair of predatory claws.

They closed in and surrounded him, making sure there was no escape. Their hands came raining down from all sides, their fingers trailing over his bare skin like wild dogs. They laughed, moving up and down his torso, at his belly and under his armpits. One of them even leaned in to lick at his chest.
But he did not relent. Not so much as flinch was elicited from him.

His spirit energy was balanced. There was nothing they could do to him that would make him so much as shudder. They started out eager, but their enthusiasm faded when they noticed they didn't get the slightest reaction.
“What’re you doing?” The leader stopped all of a sudden, “Laugh, dammit!”

She socked him in the jaw. Not even that made him react.
“Guh… You’re not gonna give us the satisfaction? Huh? Well, then how about this?”
In a fit of rage, the leader drew her dao. She ran at him and plunged it in his chest. However, as it was a demonic silver weapon, all it could do was hurt his spirit energy. And his spirit energy was balanced.

He remained on two feet, unbothered.
The kakuen leader backed away, “What are you!?”
She and her gang turned and fled in terror. They did not want to know what else he could do. What kind of wrath they had incurred. They ran off, vanishing from the cliff, leaving Yuan and his sifu.

Yuan pulled out the sword and stabbed it into the ground. He crossed the bridge towards his sifu, who had been seated on a rock to watch the scene unfold. He sat down besides her and untied the ropes.
“Sifu. Are you unharmed?”
Zhi smiled, looking up at her, “Yes. You did well. I am proud of you.”