"If have the true Mestika Golok Naga, you will not be able to break it. But try to break that saber!" said the experienced woman.
Tiong Li didn't believe it, then used both hands to break the saber.
"Krekkk!" The saber easily broke into two pieces.
Tiong Li was stunned, and looked at Ban-tok Sian-li.
"Sian-li, how could Sian-li know that the saber is fake?"
"Easy. If it was the true Mestika Golok Naga, my sword would have shattered upon contact with the relic. However, my sword is not shattered, not even nicked. This means that the saber is fake."
Tiong Li discarded the hilt of the saber.
"Strange. He admitted to stealing the relic saber and even murdered four major party leaders, then killed my father and even Suhu Рек Hong San-jin to conceal his secret. And now the saber he held is fake! Strange!"
"Why is it strange, Tiong Li? I think he's been sent by someone, and if my suspicion is correct that he's been sent, then the true saber must be in the hands of the one who sent him," said Siang Hwi while looking at the young man full of admiration.
From the first meeting, Siang Hwi has indeed been very fond of Tiong Li so she persuaded her master not to kill the young man. Now she saw Tiong Li had grown into a mature young man with high martial arts skills, making Siang Hwi admiring him greatly.
Tiong Li also looked at the girl with admiration. Now Siang Hwi has become a beautiful young lady, and her eyes are still as gentle as before, but very sharp. And seeing the girl earlier facing her assailants, he knew that Siang Hwi had a substantial martial arts skills.
"I will find the sender until I get the relic saber!" said Ban-tok Sian-li.
"Aih, subo. The saber belongs to the state, if we find it, it should be returned to the emperor."
"Ah, you know nothing! The emperor is weak, it's better to use the saber to assist the struggle! Let's go!"
The woman, who somehow felt uncomfortable and disliked because she felt less cunning than the young man, had already disappeared.
'Tiong Li, I have to go follow subo," said Siang Hwi while looking at the young man with regret
"Siang Hwi, our meeting was so short. Actually, I wanted to talk more with you. When can we meet again? I never forget that you saved my life."
Siang Hwi smiled sweetly. "Why are you still talking like that? About saving lives, if you hadn't appeared earlier, I think subo and I would have been killed by them. Therefore, there is no more debt between us. If we are destined, we will certainly meet again."
Suddenly the girl's face turned red because she had inadvertently talked about destiny, while of course what she meant was destiny to meet again, but it could be misinterpreted.
"Enough, Tiong Li. I'm afraid subo will get angry later. Goodbye, Tiong Li. I admire you who have now become a very skilled warrior."
"Goodbye, Siang Hwi, and remember, we will definitely be able to meet again and have a longer conversation."
The girl waved and disappeared. For a long time, Tiong Li stood in a daze. He had to admit in his heart that he was very attracted to Siang Hwi and felt very fond of the girl who was a student of the old woman. Somehow, as soon as he met the girl again, he felt a strange happiness creeping into his heart and now after parting, he felt a sense of loss and loneliness.
Love is indeed magical. Feeling happy when together, feeling tortured when apart. Wanting to possess and be possessed, wanting to please and be pleased, wanting to pamper and be pampered. There's a sense of compassion, there's a deep affection and if all these desires are fulfilled, the heart is full of profound happiness. However, love can also bring suffering and torment.
If love is unrequited, if love is betrayed, if love turns into boredom. Then love can turn into hatred! And all this is the work of lust. Lust aims at one thing, that is, to please oneself.
Lusty love always wants to please itself, so this kind of love requires a reciprocal love, if not, its love will turn into hatred. Can someone love, if the loved one does not reciprocate his love and even loves someone else? Can someone love if the loved one ignores him, even mocks and humiliates him? Love that is full of lust always wants a return, so its love is just a way to get something. Clearly, this love is lustful love.
However, we humans cannot escape from lust which is indeed part of every human being. If we love someone, then lust drives us to demand something pleasing from the person we love, be it a lover, wife, child, friend or anyone else.
Where does our love go if our wife strays with another man? Where does our love go if our child is disobedient and ungrateful to us. Or if a friend betrays and harms us? No, we cannot love without expecting something in return, we cannot love for the sake of love itself.
Even for most of us, our love for God also contains hopes and rewards.
Tiong Li felt weak as he finally left the place and somehow, his feet led him back to the royal city! He wanted to see the royal city, a city which is said to be beautiful and bustling.
0oo-dw-oo0
The death of Hak Bu Cu certainly shocked the heart of Prime Minister Jin Kui. He immediately held a meeting with his assistants, and also his son. In a secret room at the back of the prime minister's building, they gathered.
The first was Prime Minister Jin Kui, over fifty years old, a dignitary dressed in luxurious clothes, with an average body, but his narrow eyes flickered in a way that showed that he had a cunning and deceptive character.
His mouth was always smirking and arrogant. People like this are good at flattering superiors and belittling and oppressing subordinates, and when they become enemies they are very dangerous because their hearts are cruel and full of tricks. He sat at the head of the table, facing four people.
The first, sitting to his right, was his son named Jin Kiat. The face of the twenty-five-year-old young man was handsome enough, but also his facial structure suggested deceit and fraud. Especially his eyes, which moved swiftly.
His nose also curved like a parrot's beak and his voice was high pitched like a woman's voice. He was famous as a womanizer, but also very clever, and besides being a scholar, he was also an expert in martial arts, making his father proud. The second person was dressed as a priest. He was a Taoist named Kui To Cin-jin, still Jin Kiat's master because this Taoist taught high martial arts to Jin Kiat. Besides being the young man's teacher, Kui To Cin-jin also served as an adviser to the Prime Minister because the fifty-five-year-old Taoist had broad views. Kui To Cin-jin was thin, tall and his rat-like face had a long beard reaching his chest, but sparse and thin.
The third person was dressed like a martial artist, and his name was Ciang Sun Hok, serving as the personal guard of the Prime Minister. Since he guarded secretly, he wore ordinary clothes, not dressed as an officer or soldier. His body was tall and sturdy and from his demeanor, it was clear that he was a strong and powerful man in addition to his high martial arts.
Ciang Sun Hok, who was forty-five years old, is a Khitan hybrid who has been serving Prime Minister Jin Kui since he was young, so he is fully trusted by the high official.
The fourth person was a nobleman dressed in a luxurious outfit, named Ma Kiu It, forty years old and also he was tall and sturdy, so he looked heroic in his nobleman's outfit. He was the commander of the Prime Minister Jin Kui's guard troops.
These were the three assistants and his son whom Prime Minister Jin Kui trusted besides Hak Bu Cu, the assistant who came from the north.
At the urging of Prime Minister Jin Kui, the Emperor took a lenient stance and was eager to make peace and concede to the Yu-cen Nation or the Cin (Kin) Kingdom. This is not surprising if people know the full secret of Jin Kui's origin. When Jin Kui's biological mother was still a girl, she secretly had an illicit relationship with a servant of their family. This servant was of the Yu-cen Nation. From this relationship, the girl became pregnant and seeing this, her parents were angry with the servant and secretly killed the servant and married the girl to a Han man named Jin.
Glossary
- Mestika Golok Naga: An important artifact or weapon in the story, it is a saber.
- Tiong Li: The name of a character in the story, seen as courageous and skillful.
- Ban-tok Sian-li: Another character in the story, a knowledgeable and respected person.
- Siang Hwi: A young female character, who is shown to be strong, intelligent, and kind.
- Рек Hong San-jin: A character in the story, possibly a high-ranking or influential figure.
- Subo: An honorific term used to refer to seniors or elders.
- Hak Bu Cu: A character in the story.
- Prime Minister Jin Kui: An important character in the story, the Prime Minister.
- Jin Kiat: Son of Jin Kui, a character with deceptive and cunning nature.
- Kui To Cin-jin: A Taoist character who is a master of martial arts and serves as an adviser to the Prime Minister.
- Ciang Sun Hok: A character who serves as the personal guard of the Prime Minister.
- Ma Kiu It: A character who is the commander of the Prime Minister's guard troops.
- Yu-cen Nation or the Cin (Kin) Kingdom: A faction or group in the story that is in conflict with the Empire.