A Wuxia Tale: Blades and Flowers

Curse and Golden Aura

(YONG)

"Oh I am old...your Highness. Believe that..."

I started giving this meeting my full attention when a man in a black robe called Prince Guo, his Highess. This person knows who he is meeting here.

Prince Guo glanced at me. "I didn't say anything..."

"His Majesty told you that you will meet an old man in a black robe in this temple to help you with your concerns. But I don't sound old. The person beside me sounds like a woman. Therefore, you are questioning if I am the person you are here for because I might be a man but I don't sound old. Am I right?"

"You are good at deductions of facts," I said.

"Or I had years of people wondering if I am the old man in the black robe they are seeking because my voice sounds youthful." The man laughed.

"Won't you turn around and face your Prince. Give your respect to him," I said, putting authority in my tone.

The laughter died down immediately. The man cleared his throat. "If respect is what you are here for then I am afraid you are in the wrong place." The man turned his head slightly to his companion. The figure in black on the right slowly turned. Prince Guo and I were presented with a person with a black mask in the lower part of its face.

"Those who seeks the master's wisdoms are not allowed to gaze at his face. If you are not here to hear his answers, you may peacefully leave or arrest us already." The female said. "Either way, you don't have authority over us."

"He is the Second Prince," I said.

"Greeting, your Highness." The female bowed respectfully to Prince Guo. "Now, are you ready to proceed?" She asked after sitting upright again. The man on the left remained unmoving on his seat.

I don't like their attitudes. I turned to Prince Guo. "This is ridiculous, my Prince. Lets stop this and permit me to arrest these charlatans..."

"That is enough, Yong." Prince Guo whisper stopped me from speaking further. "I will hear what he has to say. If I am not satisfied, you will have my permission to kill them." He added in an even tone.

That mollified my anger. "Very well, your Highness." I gripped the handle of my blade tied to my hip.

The man chuckled. "I will not die tonight. No one is going to die tonight. So keep your blade sheathed Master Yong, for you won't have any use for it."

I felt shaken when he mentioned my name. "How did you know..." I stopped when I realized something. "Your Majesty appraised you of our identities."

"Or I guessed it. Either way is not important. What is important is to find out if you will die before you reach the prime age of thirty." The man said.

Prince Guo and I looked at each other. "How did you know that the answer to that is what we are seeking?" Prince Guo asked.

"Because I know a lot of things. Just like I know that you both have nothing to worry about. Master Yong will be just fine. He will reach the ripe age of eighty before he dies." The man in the black robe said.

"Truly," Prince Guo sounded relieved and elated at what we heard.

"True," the man nodded. "Their bloodline is not cursed either."

"It's not?" I frowned at that.

"No." The man shook his head. "There is no curse in your family. It's just men in your family are too stupid that they got married."

"What?" That confused me. "I don't follow..."

The man laughed. "There is no curse that was passed down on your bloodline. But there is an art of poisoning and murder being passed down to the females in your family."