The Unsurpassed Maiden

"Why…are you smiling?" Mi Young asks, looking at Zhong Yu like he was some kind of a creep.

"You said something about books. May I know what kinds of books your father owns?" The man asks without blinking.

"Anything. He has lots of books. I grew up reading different books everyday."

"Really? Do you know where he got those books then?"

"I…I…" Mi Young stammers as the man's words continue to sink inside her mind. Mi Young looks up at Zhong Yu looking entirely puzzled. "I don't…know."

"Were they already there when you were young?"

The black haired girl's eyebrows furrowed for a second as she started thinking about all the books lying around their house, some were even hidden in her father's closet. "As far as I remember they were already there as I grew up."

Zhong Yu hums before he starts massaging his chin, "In old age, books are expensive. Poor people couldn't even afford one single book about the most basic cultivation techniques."

The man stops for a second before giving Mi Young a look of a critique, "You said your family is poor, right?"

The black haired girl couldn't do anything but nod. "Uhn. Why?"

"Then why was your father able to afford all these books?" Zhong Yu asks.

The young student was silent for the whole minute. There was nothing running inside her mind but the fact that there's a small possibility that what Zhong Yu said was true. Could they really be a descendant from the nine clans? Particularly a family from the five lost clans?

Mi Young shakes her head to toss away those thoughts. There was just no way.

"My father wouldn't lie to me." The young girl says with pure conviction. "There's no way we're from the descendants of those five lost clans."

However, there was no stopping Zhong Yu. "Think about it. Your father owns tons or even thousands of books that are all very expensive—"

"What does books have to do with our heritage?" Mi Young shouts. She didn't mean to raise her voice but the man's words just kept on putting so much pressure and information inside her small mind that it was making her feel dizzy and insane. "They're just books! He could have bought them from his job or…or even stole them from anyone!"

"You think your father is a snatcher?"

"No. But there's a lot of possibilities, okay? And being a part of the five clans is just one of those." The young girl says with confused eyes.

"If it's just one of the many possibilities then why are you so mad with the idea?" The tall man questions. His voice was gentle but challenging. It's as if he was waiting for Mi Young to break even just for a small percent. But Mi Young is determined. She knows that there is just no way she could have been a descendant from the lost clans.

"No. Just…no." Mi Young says, voice sounding defeated. She doesn't know what to feel and say anymore so with a pleading look she tells Zhong Yu, "Please, let's just drop the topic."

Zhong Yu sighs before saying a small 'fine'. Mi Young waited for him to say sorry but nothing came from the man's mouth. So the young girl ignored it since it might be because he's someone great and powerful so he wouldn't lower down his pride for someone like the young girl.

When Mi Young thought that Zhong Yu would finally remain silent, the man opened his mouth once more.

"Do you even know your mother then?"

That seven worded sentence was all it took for Mi Young's brain to suddenly stop thinking.

The airless desert they were standing at suddenly felt stifling to the young girl as she let the man's words register inside her mind.

There might not be a real sun around them but she can feel the sweat trickling down all over his body. But despite the heat coming from the surroundings, Mi Young felt a cold sensation rise up from his feet and towards her brain, making it freeze entirely.

Her throat suddenly felt so dry that she couldn't even form any words to reply to the man. All Mi Young could think about was the fact that once, when she asked her father about her mother, all he said was that she was gone.

"Dad? Where is my mother?" A ten year old Mi Young asks her father who was sitting on his favorite chair and his hands gripping a book about cultivation.

 

Mi Young remembers her father freezing on his spot, though he didn't let it show, but with the way he stops breathing for a few seconds and his grip on his book tightening just for a bit was enough indication to the young girl that her father didn't expect her question at all.

For ten years, Mi Young never asked her about her own mother.

Not when she saw every kid in her town living with their moms.

Not when the other kids bullied her for not having a mother.

Not when she never saw any picture of a woman in their house.

 

Mr. Kang clears his throat before he offers the young Mi Young a small smile, "Mom is gone."

 

"Is she dead?"

 

Mr. Kang only smiled at her after that.

The black haired girl couldn't stop the way her heart started pounding inside her chest as she tries to find something in her memories that can give her any answer as to where her mom was. But even though she tried to dig the deepest part of her memory, nothing surfaces.

Mi Young felt a strong surge of emotions coming to her wave after wave. She doesn't even have the time to breathe properly because the feeling was too much.

When she felt a touch on her shoulders, that's when the young girl realized something was wrong with her.

"Mi Young! Hey! Hey!" The black haired girl hears Zhong Yu's voice trying to call out for her. "Mi Young, hey…hold my hand."

She can still hear Zhong Yu's constant comfort but she can't move her body, she can't even open her mouth. When she tried to speak, all that came out was a huge sob.

That's when the young girl realized she was sobbing and crying real hard.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it would have this much effect on you." Zhong Yu says.

The black haired girl wanted to tell him that it was okay and it wasn't his fault but nothing came out of her mouth.

There were so many thoughts running inside her mind and the more she thought about it, the stronger the emotions came back to her.

Mi Young's knees finally buckled as the strength left her body. She was still crying and shaking so hard that Zhong Yu had no other choice but to wrap his strong arms around her frail form. He continued whispering comforting words against her ear so she would know that she's not alone.

But even though Mi Young knows that she's not physically alone, nothing can fill up the void inside her heart. She felt so alone. She never felt like this, not even when she left home for school. Not when she spent all her birthdays with her father alone. Not when she sees all the children in town playing with their moms and dads.

Mi Young doesn't even know how many minutes have passed until she can finally feel the sadness wearing off of her. When she feels herself stopped crying, she slowly pulls away from Zhong Yu's hug.

"T-Thanks." The young girl says before slowly wiping away her tears.

"No, you shouldn't thank me. I was the one who caused your crying." The man says in a very apologetic voice which somehow made the black haired girl's heart constrict.

"It's not your fault." The young girl starts to say. "In fact, you made me realize a lot of things."

"I did?"

The student nodded her head. "Uhn. I realized how bad my father is for not telling me anything."

"H-Hey! That wasn't what I intended to—"

"I'm just kidding." Mi Young says while chuckling, looking so ironic because her eyes are still swollen from all the crying.

"Are you really sure you're okay?" The man asks in a concerned voice.

"Yes. Don't worry. Actually—"

Mi Young wasn't even able to finish her sentence when Zhong Yu suddenly put his hand over her mouth. The black haired girl was about to complain but the man uses his free hand and puts his finger against his own mouth. "Sssh."

The young girl immediately freezes the moment she knew why the man suddenly did what he did.

She felt a sudden sense of danger coming from something behind her. Mi Young realized that it was the same feeling she was feeling earlier when they started their journey inside this door.

"There's a very dangerous monster behind you."

"I know. I can feel it." The young girl whispers back. "Where is it right now? Is it still far away?"

"Uhn.. But we need to remain as quiet as possible so we can get away from it."