3rd person POV
Soyoung ran out of the room and into the garden for some fresh air and to recollect herself.
After sometime she heard footsteps behind her. She thought it was Jin, as she turned around, her eyes widened....
"Master Lee?" She bowed.
"Soyoung....where are you?!" Jin came out and saw master Lee too.
"Master?" Jin bowed as well.
"Come inside, master!" Jin and Soyoung guided master Lee inside the living room.
"Maids, bring sweets and tea here." Soyoung ordered and soon the maids brought tea and sweets.
"Brothers! Come here at once!" Jin ordered and soon the knights came out and were as surprised as the other two to see master Lee. They all bowed to him.
As master Lee settled down on a chair, all of them sat next to him.
Soyoung poured each one of them a cup of tea and Jin and Yunki looked admirably at her skills for after they saw so many ladies pouring tea today, probably Soyoung's skills seemed the best to them.
Soyoung's POV
"How lucky we are that you came here, master." Jin expressed his gratitude.
"I came back to the kingdom when I sensed strong Yin and Yang energy and I was right! You all and Soyoung have met!" He smiled and we all looked at each other with confusion.
"What do you mean, master?" Namjun asked.
"My children, let me teach you all the final lesson today." He smiled and sipped the jasmine tea, "Listen very carefully the secrets about each one of you that I am going to unveil."
Everyone looked at him attentively but with confusion as well.
"You all have powers. Do you know what they are?" he asked.
"Magical powers?!" Taehyun asked.
"Yes! To the common population yes it seems like magical powers but what you all have are spiritual powers. In the East kingdom the education is not so good and cultivation of spiritual power is banned. The citizens here call these kind of powers 'magical', 'out of the world' and things like that. But in the West, South and North kingdoms, they are well aware with spirituality and they cultivate their spiritual energy too. This is the reason why I have left the kingdom." Master Lee said and took a sweet from the plate to eat.
"I never knew that their existed such things?" Jeongguk was shocked. We all gasped at master's words. It felt like as if we were listening to some kind of fairytale.
"But why did the king ban it?" Jimin wondered.
"Sian didn't ban it. It was his grandfather who banned it because Sian's father was too weak to cultivate spiritual energy. Back then it was mandatory for the royal family to be spiritually enlightened but since Sian's father was weak, his grand father banned it from the kingdom so that no one laughs at the crown prince and everyone in the kingdom becomes spiritually weak." Master Lee explained while eating his sweets.
"So tyranny runs the family, huh?" Yunki rolled his eyes and Jin elbowed him to shush him.
The master sipped some tea and continued, "But Sian was different. His spiritual energy was too high since the day he was born. Sian's mother wanted to cultivate her son's spiritual energy hence she appointed me as the royal teacher. That boy was so intelligent and smart that he learned everything very quickly. As a young prince, he was very bright and lovely. He was full of love...men, women, eunuchs, plants, flowers, animals, birds...he loved everyone. He loved life and its amazing creations."
"You were his teacher as well?" Jin's eyes widened and master Lee nodded.
"Master are you sure you are talking about the right person? Because the Sian you are talking and the Sian we know are totally different." Jimin raised a brow.
"Yes my child, I'm talking about the Sian you know." He laughed and continued, "His mother was from a very powerful family and had high spiritual energy too. She was so intimidating that she overshadowed his father and dominated the court. She used to abuse her sick husband on a daily basis. This made the former king a victim of mockery and laughter in his own harem and court. The women in the harem never respected him. Sian, who was neglected by his mother and was very close to his father, saw him suffering everyday. Even though he was the king, he was powerless. This went on till Sian was 15 when his father committed suicide, leaving a blood will for him that made him the next king. This hurt that poor boy so much that he took an oath to get revenge for his father and from then on he started to torture all the women."
So he is not exactly a womanizer, rather he hates them and it is his way of torturing them. But this whole story changed the perspective of my thinking. Sian is a victim too but instead of making things right he is walking on the same path as his mother which is very unfortunate.
"What are you thinking, Soyoung?" Master Lee asked me.
"What happened to his mother and the former harem ladies?" I asked.
"Nobody knows but most of them were burnt down during the harem fire that Sian caused during his coronation." Master Lee informed, "I did try my best to stop that boy but I failed. I left the kingdom again but returned when you all took birth because I have had sensed some supernatural spiritual energies that sought my guidance." He finished his story.
"I was right....he has magical-I mean spiritual powers." Yunki nodded to himself.
"What is his power, master?" Jin asked.
"His power is not limited to a single power like you all for his spiritual energy is 10 times more that you all. He can literally do anything you can think of. He can fly, can make things appear or disappear out of the blue and so on. But he refrains from using his power too much because he wants to keep it all a secret for he desires to acquire the spiritual stone from the king of West."
"Magic stone you mean?" Hosung asked.
"I believe that is what they have told you? The king of West wants to keep it safe with someone who has no spiritual energy and will be unable to use it which he unfortunately believes is Sian. But if Sian gets the spiritual stone, he will rule this world and nobody will be safe."
"What is so special about that stone?" I asked.
"That stone creates a balance of all kind of energies in the world...be it spiritual, negative, positive or whatever. Now imagine if Sian comes in possession of that, what will happen?"
"He will use all those energies to dominate this world and no soul on this planet will be able to stop him." Jeongguk gasped.
"He will become the supreme leader." Taehyun clasped his hands on his mouth.
"Exactly so, my children. But he will require a balance of Yin and Yang energies to acquire that stone. If there's no Yin and Yang balance in the kingdom then the stone will release all its negative energy and destroy the kingdom." Master Lee added.
"This stone is dangerous." Jimin rubbed his temples.
"There must be a way to destroy it, right?" I asked.
"Yes there is. In order to unlock the stone's powers, high spiritual energy is required and in order to destroy it...higher spiritual energy is required." Master Lee informed.
"Master, can't you destroy it?" Namjun asked.
"That stone's destruction seeks spiritual energy greater than mine, child. Probably a supernatural being or The God himself can destroy it." Master Lee sighed.
"I think all of us can destroy it together if we combine our spiritual energies." Jimin said.
"No you can't. Firstly, Yin and Yang energy is here but there is no balance so you can't acquire it. Secondly, your combined spiritual energies are too less too. If I combine my energy with yours, then also it won't be enough to destroy the stone. As I said, you need spiritual energy as high as a supernatural being to destroy it and we are just mere humans."
"Sigh! At least we can stop Sian from acquiring it. What should we do, master?" Jin asked.
"Create Yin and Yang balance." The old master said.
I sighed, "Master Lee, how should we create Yin and Yang balance?"
"You are the only one in the whole kingdom. If you go with Sian, there will be a perfect Yin and Yang balance but if you stay with the knights, you must love each one of them equally and they must love you back for seven of them are one and seven minus one is like zero." Master Lee made everything cleared and I looked at the knights.
Love each one of them?
They looked at me and there was a silence before Hosung spoke, "There is one question I have master."
"What is it, child?"
"If she goes with the king then there would be a perfect balance?" Hosung asked.
"Exactly so." Master nodded.
"And to stay with us, we need romantic relationships? So does that mean that its us 7 who are low in spiritual energy?" Hosung asked.
"My child, she is half human and half spiritual being. So even if her spiritual practice is exactly like your level, her spiritual energy is automatically higher than the energies of you 7." Master Lee explained.
"Does that mean that my energy and Sian's energy level are equal?" I asked.
"Almost but Sian's is still higher and he has cultivated his energy to use it to its fullest but your cultivation is low and you can't control them fully." He explained.
"But why do we need r-romantic relationships? I-it will be awkward and what if it creates jealousy among us?" Jimin asked.
"If you don't want to have romantic relationships to create a balance between your Yin and Yang energies then you'll have to create the balance trough cultivation and meditation which will require years of practice and you don't have much time." Master Lee cleared his doubts, "And about being awkward....listen my children, love is not only about intimacy but also about togetherness....it is a beautiful bond that makes you comfortable around each other, make you believe in each other, be happy with each other, respect each other and care for each other. It means if your loved ones are hurt, you feel pain as well and when they are happy, you feel happy as well. It means living for and living with each other. It stems from friendship and grows from trust. So if you trust each other and love each other, then there will be no awkwardness and no jealousy. Remember that love is very powerful....it can help you to succeed or wreck you. So be careful and build positive love for each other with no negative emotions."
We listened to the wise man's teachings attentively and I felt so much positivity within myself.
"Now, Soyoung let me unveil your secret." Master turned towards me.
"My secret, master? But they already know it."
"You all only know half of it. Your mother, my child, she is a deity who rules over Mount Ether."
My eyes widened, "W-what?"
"Daughter of a deity?" The knights gasped.
"Once your father was passing from Mount Ether when his horse neighed loudly and refused to walk any further. The loud neigh woke your mother up, who was happened to be sleeping nearby. This enraged her and she decided to punish your father. When she came in front of him, he saw her, politely bowed and asked her to help him out. She looked at his horse and saw that she was carrying a box. Out of curiosity she asked what was it it and he said that it had food for the orphan children. This softened her heart and she helped your father. Next day apparently he again went there with humble gifts to thank your mother. Your mother appeared again but little did she know that she was being chased by a spiritual hunter. As your mother and father were talking with each other, the hunter shot a spiritual arrow at her. Your father instincts worked in the right time and he pushed her away and the arrow hit the tree nearby, burning the tree to ashes instantly. The made your mother furious, she located the hunter and burnt him down instantly. Later she came back to your father to thank him. She was so pleased that she asked him to ask for anything and he asked for her hand. The man cannot be blamed for he probably fell for her supernatural beauty. Unable to break her promise, she decided to live with him till child birth."
"M-my mother is a nekomata?"
"Yes! A full one! But you're half human and half nekomata."
"C-can I meet her?"
"Probably not! After that incident she never came in front of any human."
"D-did m-my father know about all these?"
"No , my child."
"But how did you came to know about all these?"
"Your mother, after leaving her mortal body, came to meet me and requested me to be your teacher. That time she told me everything." He paused and then continued, "Since you are no normal human being, you have the ability to love more than one partner and probably you've already developed it but you're suppressing it." He said and looked at the knights, "Same goes for you all....all of you are suppressing your love." He shook his head and chuckled.
I didn't know how to respond...I felt shy and the knights...some of them shifted in their seats and some cleared their throats but everyone avoided eye contact as if we all were caught red handed while trying to steal.
"Next the knights. Each one of you are not common either. Do you know what the seven deadly sins are?" Master Lee asked.
"Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride." Namjun answered.
"That's right!" Master Lee nodded.
"A-are you implying that we represent the 7 deadly sins?" Hosung gulped.
"No no!" The master chuckled, "These 7 deadly sins are represented by Sian. You seven represent to 7 heavenly virtues that contradict the sins. Do you know what they are?"
"Patience, gratitude, temperance, humility, charity, chastity and diligence.", Namjun replied again.
"Very good, my child. Now listen very carefully..." He turned towards Jin, "Jin, you represent gratitude for you're Always kind and know how to appreciate the little things."
"Yunki, you represent temperance for you are very self-restraint."
"Hosung, you my child, represent humility for you are free from pride and arrogance."
"Namjun you represent patience for you are always patient no matter what the situation is."
"Now comes charity...I know you all know how to give but Jimin tops all of you. He might sound tough sometimes but he has the softest heart...he gives the most to the poor and never brags about it.
"Taehyun you represent chastity for you are pure and innocent."
"Last but not the least, Jeongguk you represent diligence for you are always energetic and devoted to your work."
All of them smiled proudly when they heard their qualities and bowed politely to Master Lee.
"Always remember your virtue and never work against it else it will be destroyed thus destroying your spiritual energies." He warned them.
"We will always remember your teachings, master." We all bowed, feeling enlightened with knowledge.
"Very good, my children. My work here is done...Now I shall take my leave." He stood up but Jin stopped him, "Master, it's already evening. Please stay here tonight"
"He is right, master. Please be kind enough to stay here for tonight." I requested him too.
"No, my children. I have some unfinished business to attend and I must leave." Master lee insisted on leaving and we didn't force him either.
3rd person POV
The master was the only one who finished his tea and sweets...the others seemed so engrossed in his teachings that they didn't even touch anything. As the master left the room, the knights followed him out to see him off.
"Thank you for coming, master." Hosung bowed again.
"We were blessed to have you here." Taehyun bowed and the others bowed as well.
"Please grace us with your visits often, master." Jin requested politely.
"I shall come whenever you need my guidance. Now I must leave. Take care, my children-"
"What's the hurry, master?!"
Everyone turned around and saw Sian standing in front of the gate with a smirk.
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