The God of Cataka

5

"Shen Zhu, pour some tea for Master and Madam," Bao Yu's instructions softly persuaded.

A waiter placed a tray containing a tea pot and three empty cups on the table in front of Shen Zhu.

Shen Zhu poured the tea into the cups then distributed it to the owner of the college and his wife while kneeling.

The owner of the college groaned in his heart once more, looking at Shen Zhu with a disappointed look. "Now pour it also for Master Yu," he said. "From now on he will be your teacher."

Shen Zhu bowed once more and poured tea for Bao Yu.

"Now you are officially part of the Bao Sect," Bao Yu said after finishing sipping her tea. He patted Shen Zhu on the shoulder with a gentle smile. Then he got up from his seat and led the boy out of the room.

As promised, that same day Shen Zhu was transferred to Dormitory Seven, located in one of the most remote corners of the college and only inhabited by junior students who were on average fifteen years old. Shen Zhu became the only youngest disciple and became the darling of the other disciples.

Bao Yu's disciples consisted of only six people, plus Shen Zhu had a total of only seven people.

For a moment, Shen Zhu felt at ease with the calmness and warm atmosphere of the family.

But when night came, he was attacked by something dark and very cold.

Like death.

Shen Zhu wasn't sure if it was a spiritual attack or just a nightmare that felt real. He can't tell the difference.

The darkness looked like black smoke. It was shaped like a creeping plant vine that then wrapped around it slowly, smothering its mouth, and suffocating it.

He tried to thrash and scream, but the more he tried, the more tightly the mist bound his body. Dragging him further into the darkness.

"Shen Zhu!"

He heard someone calling his name. It sounds distant at first. Then it gets closer.

Getting close.

"Shen Zhu's! Wake up!"

He felt a pair of hands clutching his shoulders and pulling him to sit down.

Shen Zhu gasped and gasped. His panicked gaze swept through the room and found the anxious face of Bao Yu who was sitting bent over the edge of her bed. "Teacher" he hissed with a stingy breath. "What's going on?"

"You had a bad dream," Bao Yu replied as he lowered both of his hands from Shen Zhu's shoulders.

"Dreams?" hiss Shen Zhu was not sure. He tried to remember the contents of his dream, but only remembered the dense darkness that strangled him.

Is it really just a dream? He wondered in his heart. But didn't say anything.

"It's still too late" whispered Bao Yu, glancing past his shoulder. "But you can't sleep anymore."

Shen Zhu's roommates were all asleep.

"Wake up!" Bao Yu instructed. "Bring your sword. I'm gonna take you somewhere."

Shen Zhu nodded obediently and revealed his blanket. Then step down from his bed.

Soon, they were already on the dorm terrace and walking down the long corridor towards the library.

The library consists of three floors. The area was about ten times ten meters and the contents were only bookshelves up to the ceiling. Several tables lined up in sections on each floor.

Bao Yu stopped her steps just on the first floor and instructed, "Sit down there and try to meditate," he said as he pointed at the floor in the middle of the room. "Give me your sword!"

Shen Zhu handed over his sword and stepped into the center of the room, then sat down cross-legged while Bao Yu charged into one of the tables and began to scrutinize the rusty sword intently. Then look for the manual on the sword.

Judging from its shape, it was likely hundreds or thousands of years old! Bao Yu concluded. Then start looking for books on a row of shelves that specifically store old books.

Bao Yu turned her head towards Shen Zhu when she saw a slight sign that the child was about to fall asleep.

Shen Zhu blinked and stammered. Then he nodded, as if trying to wake himself up. Then back to concentrating.

Bao Yu knew what the boy was going through was not just a dream. He saw something like a tendril wrapped around his body and tried to drag him into the illusionary world.

That was why he woke Shen Zhu up and forbade him to go back to sleep.

He also deliberately took her to the library to search for clues regarding the old sword that Shen Zhu chose to make sure the cause was not the curse of the sword.

Some heirlooms, especially the very old ones, are often infiltrated with dark energy that can endanger one's soul.

So, he decided to study the heirloom as soon as possible while looking after Shen Zhu.

He flipped through the pages of an old book and gasped.

One of the pages of the book he found contained a sword drawing that shaped patterns and handles as well as the jewel was exactly the same as the old rusty sword that had chosen Shen Zhu.

"The Sword of the Cataclysm?" his hisses can't believe it.

It was said that the Evil God Sword could destroy a single kingdom in a single slash. A special weapon to sweep through the demon clan that only the commander in chief of the sky army troops possessed.

This child.Bao Yu blinked and looked at Shen Zhu with a frown. Then back to gasp.

The boy's body was now burning red, and Bao Yu frowned ever deeper.

"This aura.." Bao Yu hissed in astonishment.

Is it true that this child was rejected in the sea of elements? his mind is not out of thought. Judging from his aura, he should have the fire element, he concluded.

The heirloom sword that chose him even came from the god race. It is impossible to be born with weak spiritual power, right?

Nah! thought. This child was not born with weak spiritual power, he said inwardly. There was something within him that absorbed that spiritual power and gnawed at it slowly.

From the beginning, he had already felt that the child was covered in something dark and evil.

But he doesn't know exactly what.

There is no way the sword curse could have been caused. The Sword of the God of Chaos is a sacred heirloom.

Now Bao Yu felt sure the dark aura was not coming from the heirloom sword. It most likely had something to do with the attack on their village, he thought. It seems that I have to go down alone to investigate the ruins of that village.

The next day, early in the morning, Bao Yu had already taken Shen Zhu down the mountain and brought the boy to his native village.

But the village was almost completely evacuated.

Each person was buried around where they were found and grouped by area of ownership, then limited to a memorial inscribed with their own surnames.

Shen Zhu froze in front of a row of nameless eddies with a monument inscribed with his surname. He doesn't even know where his mother's grave is. His parents were buried with the guards and servants without exception.

Well, he couldn't blame any party in this.

After all those knights had already worked hard to properly bury so many people.

Bao Yu stepped slowly to Shen Zhu's side and watched around the Liu family tomb, then pointed at the large hole that had been stockpiled by the ruins of the wall. "What hole is that?" he asked Shen Zhu.

"Former basement, Father's heirloom storage," Shen Zhu replied as he glanced towards the hole his teacher pointed at. Her memories of her being trapped in that basement flashed back in her mind. Makes him feel uncomfortable. Especially considering the darkness that still haunts him.

"Dad's heirloom stuff?" repeat Bao Yu with squinted eyes. "You mean.. Your father was an heirloom collector?"

"True," said Shen Zhu. "My father is a rare heirloom collector and treasure hunter!"

Worth it! inner Bao Yu.