“No.” Bulu Wang’s answer gave Marcus some relief, but only very briefly: “But it’s a start.”

  “Start of what?” Marcus asked, only to be met with a swift sweeping attack from Bulu Wang at his left arm. He could only lower his body and leapt to the side to dodge it, leaving the metal staff’s attack to hit nothing but air. He grabbed a piece of dirt from the ground, infused it with his Qi and flung it at Bulu Wang.

  “Stop with these petty tricks!” Bulu Wang spun his staff and blocked all the pebbles with ease: “Face me like a man! Face me like my student would!”

  “What great goal compelled you to do this?” Marcus simply narrowed his eyes and did not respond: “What could have been so great and grand, that you look the other way when a woman lost her child and ended her own life?”

  “I DID NOT look away!” Bulu Wang swung his staff from low to high, launching a hailstorm of pebbles, dirt, grass and wood splinters at Marcus. Marcus activated his Qi defense and dodged to the side, losing only a few pieces of fabric on his pants and sleeves. “You have no idea what the truth is. You have no idea what I and every one of my team went through! How dare you!?”

  “Then tell me.” Marcus picked up two pieces of broken tombstone and shot them at Bulu Wang: “You and your great task, your grand ideal. What is it?”

  Bulu Wang did not answer. He simply lunged at Marcus with his staff thrusting forward aiming right at Marcus’ chest with lightning speed. Marcus threw his body leftward and the staff left a burn and scratch mark on his right upper arm. In a swift retaliation, Marcus swung his left hand upwards in a claw shape aiming at Bulu Wang’s left wrist.

  “Clunk!” The collision of flesh and blood bodies produced a metal crashing sound, Bulu Wang’s hand was pushed upwards, but his pressure points did not give, and his grip on the staff was still firm and sturdy. This did not work, so Marcus unleashed a lower kick at the side of Bulu Wang’s right knee. But Bulu Wang raised his leg and blocked the kick with his own right foot.

  “You’re using the tricks I taught you against me?” Bulu Wang’s single eye glowed in fury: “The insolence! ” His left hand let go of the staff and unleashed a palm strike at Marcus’ chest.

  “Boom!” Marcus was not able to dodge in time, and could only push his Qi to harden his defenses, while readied his legs to alleviate the impact. The strike landed true, and even with all these preparations, it was still like taking a full force swing of a sledgehammer to the chest. Blood shot out of his mouth as he flew backwards, finally able to stand after rolling on the ground a few turns.

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  “Before you lecture me again.” Marcus wiped the blood on the corners of his mouth off with a smile: “I think I know what you meant by great task, Old Wang. I know now.”

  “Do you now?” Bulu Wang lowered his metal staff, but only very slightly.

  “Yes. I had my suspicions that I may be wrong, but I think I’m right on this.” Marcus stood straight, taking the window to soothe his breath and process the pain: “They must have told you, that in order to keep the city from falling apart, in order to keep the South-Eastern District from the backlash of what would happen, you must be a watcher in this site. You, and maybe some others who have mastered Qi and the ritualistic practices from temples of renown, shall act as literal pillars to this gross ritual spanning across the entirety of the city. The children, the people sacrificed every year through every cycle, are but costs to that end.”

  Bulu Wang was stunned for a moment, before he raised his head and laughed. Whole heartedly and without holding any breath or voice back, his laugh could even be heard from the train station and the residential areas far from here.

  “So then you know why I must be here.” Bulu Wang took a deep breath and pointed his staff at Marcus: “Our district is suffering. No - MY district is suffering. And any more damage to it would mean the people losing their communities, their homes, their faith and their centers of faith and morality. I cannot allow it - I simply can’t - ”

  “But - I suspect they haven’t told you everything. They surely haven’t.” Marcus also took a deep breath: “THEY are the ones who took the scholars and monks away. They are the ones who created the sites and let them become relays of corrupt Qiyun. They are - they are the ones who encouraged people from other district to move up North - ”

  “Enough! ” Bulu Wang’s single eye almost jumped out of his eye sockets: “There’s no use talking, let’s finish this, now!”

  “I still have one thing to say.” Marcus sighed and got ready in a fighting pose: “The reason I am here, is because we have already kick started everything. The datacenter I just mentioned, it was the center of the whole ritual. It was where ‘the council’ was. And we destroyed it. Now the last piece of the puzzle lies here. The last key, the final nail of the entire ritual. It is under your guard. I am here to destroy it. And I will fight you, Old Wang, if I have to.”

  “Then, what’s the hold up?” Bulu Wang swirled his staff: “Have at it!”

  Marcus’ feet left two visible dents behind as he shot at Bulu Wang. His right hand thrust forward in a claw form. His Qi concentrated on his entire hand, radiating an azure glow while leaving strings of afterimages behind.

  In less than a second, Marcus’ hand collided with the middle point of Bulu Wang’s staff. A loud clunk exploded from the collision. To Marcus’ surprise, though Bulu Wang’s hands were infused fully with Qi, there was almost none on the metal staff itself. And right after this clash, the metal staff broke from the contact point, leaving Marcus’ claw jamming right at Bulu Wang’s chest.

  Marcus tried his best to pull back his attack. But it was too late. Bulu Wang took the attack straight on his chest, with a relieved smile on his face.

  Blood of Bulu Wang dripped from Marcus’ fingertips, yet it was the least of Marcus’ worries. An invisible chain and seal was lifted from Bulu Wang, freeing his body and soul, yet at the same time cutting short his time in this world.

  “Good, good.” Bulu Wang dropped the broken staff and sat on the ground, coughing and gurgling: “You did great. I’m - I’m proud of you, Marcus.”